


Colder at the Top (Closer to the Sun)

by Bearixt



Series: Zenith [1]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Idols, BUT WE GOTTA WATCH OUR BABY TRAINEES GROW, Because we gotta focus on, But it's still Viktuuri I swear, Developing Friendships, EVERYONE IS GIVEN THE LOVE THEY DESERVE, Gen, M/M, Modern Royalty-ish?, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, POV Katsuki Yuuri, POV Victor Nikiforov, Platonic Relationships, Slow Burn, Social Media, Tags May Change, Team Dynamics, The rest in character tags are trainees, Viktor Yuri Chris Otabek and Mila are mentors
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2019-10-16 11:48:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 38,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17549123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bearixt/pseuds/Bearixt
Summary: YNY Entertainment is finally opening their doors to the general public! In reality TV program called HISTORY MAKERS, ten trainees will be living together and training with YNY's top artists as mentors. After three months, three of them will be given the opportunity to be the company’s first non-royalties to grace the stage in the near future!In which Viktor Nikiforov, top idol of the decade, meets one of the trainees, Yuuri Katsuki.(And Yuuri meets the other trainees. They bond over their hellish trainings and amazing mentors.)-Basically, an Idol AU.





	1. History Makers Announcement (V)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hewwo. My first major YOI project is finally here! An idol AU no one asked for! \o/
> 
> I've started writing this July last year after being inspired by _Idol Producer_ , and guess what? IP S2 has already started airing a few days ago... and this was still in my files. Yikes. So in celebration of the second season (and Monsta X Changkyun's birthday), here it is, I guess?
> 
> No schedule of updates, though this is already mostly written except for a few final chapters, so don't worry. I'm trying to finish before the setting of this fic 😬😬 but do I really trust myself? I hate editing??? Anyway, while loosely based on _Idol Producer_ , no prior knowledge of that or other survival shows (e.g. Produce 101) is needed.
> 
> This project will not be possible without my alpha, beta, and cheer-reader all in one, [ Cookie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleDancer8)! She's an amazing writer and artist, and you should check her works out. Love you! <3 <3 (Mistakes you still see are entirely my own.)
> 
> Here we go.

The trench coat they made him wear was uncomfortable.

In an industry where surviving five years was already considered an admirable feat, one would think that being number one in all of the popularity polls for _ten_ years would at least grant you the freedom to wear whatever you liked.

Sure, they allowed him to wear his favorite sleeveless top and skinny jeans, but the company stylists just really had to include the damn trench coat today, huh? It was itchy. It was boring. The violet definitely didn’t match his style. Awful and uncool. And seriously, it was so damn _itchy._

Removing the coat and throwing it aside, he flashed a smile at the screaming crowd.

He’s Viktor Nikiforov—the top idol of the decade. He would just get a whole load of new sponsors.

“Thank you for your support!” he shouted into the microphone. “This is my last concert for a while and—no, no, don’t aww me! You know it’s not the end.” He pouted and watched his fans shake their lightsticks in the air. Viktor might be tired of the industry itself most of the time, but seeing the sea of silver lights and the amount of people continuously supporting him… it was still worth it.

“Wait for my next album and upcoming shows, okay?”

Viktor grinned after hearing the really loud “Yes!” from the crowd. “Thank you, and I love you all!” He took a bow, and when he stood up, he waved in all directions with matching flying kisses. “Thank you again and good night!”

The lights turned off and he jogged backstage, giving a high five to every single staff member he passed by. After getting a bottle of water from a vending machine nearby, he went straight to his waiting room. He just had to collect his belongings quickly, go straight home, and then he could sleep for ten days.

When he entered the room, he froze.

Okay, this wasn’t a part of his plan.

Raising an eyebrow, he closed the door behind him and leaned against it, looking at the redhead casually sitting cross-legged on the sofa. “Hey, Mila! What are you doing here? How are your group promotions going?” he asked, a large, strained smile plastered on his face.

Mila rolled her eyes at him. “Like that’d work with me.” She sighed and stood up, bringing out a phone from the pocket of her bomber jacket. She continued to fiddle with her phone as she spoke, “You’ve been ignoring Chris’s texts—”

“I had a three-day concert, you know?

“—And you even rejected Yakov’s calls. Rejected. Yakov’s. Calls.” She looked up with flickers of amusement dancing in her eyes. “Pretty amazing, actually.”

“Thanks?”

“Anyway, not the point.” Mila did some more things on her phone before she shoved it towards his face. “Read.”

Viktor frowned but grabbed the offending phone away from Mila’s hand and moved it to a suitable distance away from his face to read it. It was an article from an online news portal.

_Yubileyny Entertainment, better known as YNY Entertainment, is undeniably the most successful entertainment company in Supercontinent Hasetsu. Under world-renowned artist Yakov Feltsman, they have maintained their dominance in the industry since its foundation in 1989. YNY has been producing very limited but high quality artists of royal blood, including top solo artist Viktor Nikiforov who is currently on the last leg of his conce—_

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Viktor asked, tilting his head slightly as he shifted his attention back to Mila. “It’s an old article. My concert’s finished now. And who wrote this? They weren’t even following the inverted triangle I thought every news article uses.”

Mila let out an irritated sigh. “Not every article needs to follow _that_ , and this is a _feature,_ and this is _old_ because—” Mila pinched the bridge of her nose as if trying to stave off a headache. “Just… just continue reading, please.”

Viktor shrugged and skimmed the rest of the article until something caught his attention.

_…in almost thirty years, they will be opening their doors to the general public. In reality TV program called HISTORY MAKERS, three people will be given the opportunity to train and debut under YNY—making them the company’s first non-royalties to grace the stage in the near future._

“Is this true?” Viktor asked, a grin breaking out on his face. “Did Yakov finally got some sense knocked into him?”

Mila smiled a bit. “Don’t let him hear you say that. But yep, _finally,_ which is why you should’ve answered our texts and calls this past week instead of hiding from us and cooping yourself up in your apartment. The staff have already chosen around a hundred, I think, and we need your input so we can finalize already.”

“Eh?” Viktor blinked in surprise. “What?”

There was a long period of silence where Mila just glared at Viktor expectantly before she groaned at the ceiling. “Viktor. Read the entire thing.”

“…Okay?”

_Ten lucky trainees will undergo three months of vigorous training with YNY’s top artists as mentors, led by none other than Viktor himself. Other mentors include the rising next top idol Yuri Plisetsky; ex-INTOXICATED member Chris; composer and singer-songwriter Otabek Altin; Hack-Kiss member Mila; and choreographer and previous prima ballerina Lilia Baranovskaya._

Viktor hurriedly returned the phone as if holding it any longer would burn his entire hand off and shook his head. “No, no, no. Why am I included?”

“Because you’re the top idol of the decade?” Mila raised an eyebrow and pocketed her phone. She sidestepped him and opened the door. “Be at YNY tomorrow, 9 AM, Room 7G. Okay? We need to finish choosing the ten.”

Viktor turned around, widened his eyes, and clasped his hands together. “But I just finished my concerts! Concerts with an S! I need to rest, Mila! Rest! Any time earlier than noon is evil!”

Mila just gave him a sly smile. “We’ll be waiting, all right? I’m sure a trainee will catch your eye.”

Viktor seriously doubted that.

He exhaled a long-suffering breath as the door closed in his face.

 

* * *

 

_Replying to @YNYEntertainment_

**Sandra** @faeriefirefly • 6m

YNY is finally making use of the longer tweet limit! I can’t wait to see how amazing Viktor will be as a mentor!

 **bear | #HBDIMDAY** @bearixt_ • 5m

jj is joining this right!!1!?!!? damn right because my boy gotta have the recognition he deserves!!!

 **Angels of Yuri** @RealYurasAngels • 5m

Our precious Yuri will be a mentor for this, so Angels, let’s support this show! :3

 **Electra🤷🏼♀️💖⛸** @shslshortie • 4m

they won’t confirm it but im sure my precious bff duo applied!!!! sjaldkd aaaaah, i hope they got in! 🙏

_Replying to @YNYEntertainment and @shslshortie_

**Sae Bae👸** @Lilhoneysuckle4 • 3m

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Because yes! if someone’s gonna get in this show, the dancer acknowledged by THE Chris deserves a spot.

 **Phichit Supremacist** @phichi-phichi-phich • 3m

chi’s ig stories are all dance practices!!!! THE FAITH!!!! CALLING ALL THE GODS!!!! 🙏🙏🙏

 

 

* * *

 

Viktor lowered his head and looked up over the top of his sunglasses, taking in the high building of his company. He lowered his gaze and checked his watch. 10:23 AM.

Still pretty early.

He walked inside and went straight to the elevator, which was unfortunately filled to the brim by the third floor. Viktor went through the usual motions: nod, smile, “Thank you. Yes, it was quite tiring, but nothing I can’t manage,” take a sip of coffee from the paper cup in his hand, fix his glasses, “Sure, thank you,” smile yet again.

Elevator rides really ranked high on the List of things he disliked.

After a tragically long elevator ride, it finally dinged, signifying that it was on the seventh floor. Viktor almost breathed out a sigh of relief before he reeled it in and put a smile on his face for the others in the elevator instead. “Excuse me, guys, this is my floor.”

They parted for him like the red sea, and Viktor couldn’t help but let out the surprised chuckle this time. He coughed in an attempt to cover it and muttered a quick thanks before stepping off the lift.

He was taking a sip of his coffee in one hand and reaching for the doorknob with the other when the door opened, and suddenly he was face-to-face with a blonde man. Chris. _Wow, when was the last time he shaved?_

“I was just about to drag you here from your apartment,” Chris said. He plucked the cup from Viktor’s hand and walked inside the room.

Chris just stole his coffee. His life support. The man was truly evil.

“You sure took your time, old man. Sit and let’s get this fucking done with,” a familiar voice spat in his direction.

Room 7G was one of the smaller meeting rooms in YNY, but it was still spacious. In the middle of the room was a small, wooden desk, surrounded by five leather chairs, two on each side and one by the head of the table. A big flat screen television occupied an entire wall, displaying multiple video files.

Yuri was leaning back on his chair with arms behind his head and feet on the table, though they were surprisingly not touching any of the papers scattered on the desk.

Beside Yuri was Otabek, who looked up and nodded at Viktor before he went back to writing something on a piece of paper. Mila was seated opposite of him, inspecting two papers she held in both hands. Chris took the seat next to her and placed the cup down on the table in front of the empty chair.

Oh. Not evil after all.

“Sit down, Viktor. We don’t have all day,” Chris said, jerking his head toward the empty seat. “Why are you late? We have to finish this today.”

Viktor reached his coffee in four quick strides, gulping it down all at once before he took his seat. He scrunched up his nose in disgust with his next breath. The distinct scents of marker and ink were somewhere on the lower part of his List.

Anyway. “What are we doing?”

“Not even gonna answer the question, huh?” Yuri scoffed. “We’re pulling weeds.”

“Don’t even try to idiot your way out of this one, Viktor,” Mila said, not taking her eyes off the papers she held. She did that an awful lot with him around, didn’t she? Rude _._ “I know you finally read the email sent to you almost a month ago. Or saw the official announcement a week ago, or at least the tweet yesterday.”

“The staff had already discarded most of the applicants, but choosing only ten—” Chris scratched his head. “I’m really not being paid enough for this.”

Mila nodded to herself before putting down one of the papers and giving the other to Yuri. Yuri swung his feet off of the table and reached for it. He looked at the paper for a short moment before crumpling and throwing it in a waste basket on the opposite wall that Viktor just then noticed.

Yuri missed, and based on the amount of other crumpled papers around, it wasn’t the first. He didn’t appear to be bothered by it though, and he simply leaned back in his chair again.

“How many have you chosen now?” Viktor asked.

“We have four that we’ll surely include, no matter what you say. Already put the stamp on them,” Chris replied with a wink.

“Oh?” Viktor raised a brow. “Now that makes me intrigued. Who are they?”

“Fuck, no. You better help us choose the other six first,” Yuri said before he threw a remote that seemed to be aimed suspiciously at his head. “Deleted most of the trash, but there is bound to be some left. Check for anyone you think won’t be an absolute disgrace.”

Viktor pressed _play_ and watched the first few audition tapes, frowning at what he was seeing. _Are these people serious?_ He leaned forward and perched his chin on his left hand, raising his right hand holding the remote to press _next_ without vigor when they failed to get his attention in three seconds or less.

When he’d let a video play for at least around five seconds, Chris would look up, determine who the applicant was, and separate their paper from the rest of the stack. Viktor didn’t mind Chris’s actions; he just wanted to finish this already and go back to his apartment.

Next. Next. Raise a brow. Watch a bit. Papers being shuffled. Next. Next. Next. Watch a bit—nope, never mind. Next. Decent one. Next. Next. Next.

Viktor suddenly froze as a familiar tune entered his ears.

Someone said something, but everything else simply became background noise as he sat up and focused all his attention to the video in front of him.

It was of a black-haired man, dancing in what seemed to be a living room with the couches moved to the side. _Don't Let Me Go_ filled the air around him _._ One of Viktor's favorite songs.

There were times when the man was obviously hesitating on the larger moves and some hits weren’t quite strong enough, but his lines were beautiful. His facial expressions showed the story of a man begging for someone to stay, perfectly capturing the emotions of the song in just a short performance.

He danced with _passion._

It was something that Viktor sometimes had to remind himself to include in his performances now.

“Get him in. No but’s. I'm activating my power as the top idol.” Viktor watched as the applicant turned around and snapped his head to the side, breathing heavily as he stared straight at the camera with a hand reaching out. The screen paused automatically, signalling the end of the video. "He should be in,” he softly added as he stared at the still image of the man on the screen.

A snort came from Yuri.

"We're already ahead of you," Mila said. Viktor turned his head towards her just in time to see her roll her eyes at a smug-looking Chris. “I forgot to move that one to the passed folder,” she muttered.

Chris winked at Mila before facing Viktor, still with a wide grin on his face. "I'm familiar with this guy. Pretty famous in the internet because of his dance covers. Really good. I'm pleasantly surprised to see him apply, actually. I always pegged him as shy."

"He doesn't have any SNS aside from his inactive insta, and there are rumors that he doesn't even know his covers are being uploaded," Yuri said, looking at the paused video.

They all turned toward Yuri with various degrees of surprise in their faces, except Otabek who just raised an eyebrow before writing something down again.

Yuri must've noticed the abrupt silence. He looked at them and scowled. "What?"

"You know him?" Viktor asked, intrigued.

Chris followed through with a "Yuri knows someone else aside from us?"

Mila faked a gasp. "Yuri cares about someone aside from himself?”

“Oh, fuck off!" Yuri crossed his arms and glared at the “shocked” two before continuing, "I just kept on seeing people mention him and me on Twitter because we have similar names."

Viktor hummed. "Yuri?"

"Yup, but with double u's," Chris said, showing him an application paper.

Viktor glanced at the red “PASSED” stamp on the paper and nodded. This applicant had a lot of potential, and he would love to see his skills honed.

Speaking of skill, the next applicant had good lines, too. He looked familiar. “Do I know him?”

Mila squinted her eyes at him in disbelief and shook her head. “He was one of your backup dancers.”

“What? During which promotions?”

“The Lilac Fairy? Carabosse? And a lot more songs?” Mila listed off in a questioning tone, clearly waiting for the moment that recognition would hit him.

“Ah!” Viktor dropped a fist to an open palm. “The half-royal!” He remembered him. A hard-worker who never thought of his status as an advantage or disadvantage. “Did you get him in yet?”

“Nah, debating whether to choose him or this one”—Yuri waved another paper in the air before placing it in front of Viktor—“since they both have prior experience in actually being on stage with a YNY idol.”

“Why not choose them both?”

“We’re trying to make the ten as varied as possible, each with different specializations, coming from different places,” Chris said. “Representation is important. I’m sure you, of all people, know that, Mr. I-Want-Equality.”

“And we already have fuckin’ JJ to take care of the popularity part,” Yuri muttered.

Viktor could feel his eyebrows raising close to his hairline. “JJ, as in the model Leroy? Jean-Jacques Leroy? He auditioned?”

“Yep, and he’s in,” Mila said, popping the p. “He’s quite okay. Guess the popularity is deserved.”

Otabek raised his head and nodded at that. “His breathing is good, his techniques are above average, and he can hit high notes without difficulty.”

 _He really doesn’t speak much except when it comes to his forte, huh? He would be a great vocal mentor_. _Wait._ “I thought Lila would also be here as a dance mentor?” Viktor asked.

“She is, but she has other schedules today. She’ll be there on our first meeting with the trainees. So? Who are your picks?” Mila asked.

“Not sure of the others yet, but I think I prefer Georgi. He has better foundations. And I know he has a great personality.”

“Got it.” Mila stamped the approval mark on Georgi's application paper and passed it to Chris.

“And don’t forget Yuwi.”

There was a short moment of silence before laughter filled the room. Yuri clutched his stomach, laughing so hard that tears formed on the corner of his eyes. Chris and Mila were hitting each other, and Otabek had tried to hide it with a cough but Viktor could see that he was smiling. _What? Why were they laughing?_ “What’s funny?”

“Yuwi,” Yuri had managed to let out before he howled with laughter again. Chris, struggling to catch his breath, just brought up an application from their ‘PASSED’ stack and gave it to him.

_Oh._

Yuuri Katsuki. Yuuri, with double u’s, not w.

Viktor could feel his face warming.

He wouldn’t be able to forget that name for a while.

 

* * *

 

_You are watching H-BOO, your number one source of idol news, here on Channel Y. It's finally here, folks! The time to reveal the ten lucky trainees for Yubileyny Entertainment's new reality TV program HISTORY MAKERS has come!_

_As you guys surely know by now, HISTORY MAKERS itself is making history as it introduces us to non-royals who will soon have the opportunity to be the next big names in the industry! Whether they will have solo careers or be in groups, we don't know yet, but there is one thing for sure: this is a huge step in the movement for equality._

_Ten trainees will live and train together for three months in YNY's very own Ice Castle, which is also being used for the very first time! This is really a momentous event in history!_

_And now, we’re giving you the list of the lucky ten trainees, in no particular order:_

_Guang Hong Ji_

_Leo de la Iglesia_

_Emil Nekola_

_Kenjirou Minami_

_Seung Gil Lee_

_Michele Crispino_

_Jean-Jacques Leroy_

_Yuuri Katsuki_

_Phichit Chulanont_

_Georgi Popovich_

_Three of them will be YNY's next idols, and they will need YOU to vote for them to make those dreams come true! Get to know the trainees better by following YNY's official social media accounts, which you can see below on your TV screens. They'll be releasing short introductions of the trainees soon. Watch out!_

_HISTORY MAKERS, showing every Sunday starting JULY 28, 2019, 7 PM, only here on Channel Y!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the setting: This is set in a modern world where 'Hasetsu' is a supercontinent, there are no nationalities, it's a monarchy... and some of the royalties are idols (oops?) under YNY. There used to be a big difference between the life of royalties and common people, but hey, it's the 21st century, more equality and all that. No one's even using noble titles anymore (Earl Viktor? Viscount Yuri?). YNY is one of the few companies left that has an exclusive royalty-only thing, but even that is changing now... but please don't look too much into it. I just really needed a reason for idols to be rare and for the show to truly be history making? XDD
> 
> [This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNkzltInZdA) is the song Yuuri danced to in his audition piece. It's written and composed by my favorite Chinese idol, who is also the producer of Idol Producer. I linked the English version, so you can give it a listen! Also, thanks to Electra, Saeuna, and Sandra for letting me use their Twitter handles! ~~anyone wanna volunteer theirs for future reference?~~
> 
> Okay, I swear this is the first and last time the notes sections are long as hell. Thank you for reading, and hope you enjoy the rest of the ride!


	2. Grade Evaluation (Y)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said I'm trying to finish before the setting of this fic (i.e. starting on July 2019)? Me neither.
> 
> Last time, I posted in celebration of Changkyun's birthday. Guess I'm updating in late celebration of mine now? 🤔 Every chapter from here on out will be roughly this long, so editing continues to be a painful process, but at least yay for longer updates amirite!! Though at this rate, I will be thankful if I actually finish within this year. Thought I'd be able to update 1-2 times a month, but why is real life in the way? ㅠㅠ
> 
> My amazing ABC (alpha, beta, and cheer) reader [Cookie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleDancer8) once again did her magic on this chapter. Thank you and love you! <3 Remaining mistakes (especially related to prepositions, which I suck at) are entirely my own.

It was freezing, and even wearing a thick sweater over multiple layers of clothing wasn't enough to fight the cold. Add in the fact that their names could be called at any time...

“Yuuri Katsuki and Phichit Chulanont, please enter the waiting area.”

Oh my god. See? There it was. Yuuri was positive that he would die in the next few minutes.

Yuuri wiped his hands on his sweater, carefully minding the name tag stuck on the lower part, and held out a hand. Phichit grinned at him before taking his hand, and together, they went out their shared temporary waiting room and into the hallway.

A staffer was waiting for them, and they followed her to the so-called “waiting area.” It turned out to be a massive room with big fancy lights decorating the ceiling and wide mirrors lining the wall.  Opposite the door they came in was a dimly-lit tunnel pathway, which Yuuri assumed leads to the stage. There was a long table on one side of the room and a bunch of staff with their cameras on the other side.

Ice Castle truly lived up to its name—it was freezing, and it was goddamn big.

Yuuri was incredibly thankful that they had let him go through the entire process with Phichit—after all, the trainees weren’t technically supposed to meet and know each other before the show proper. But since they _are_ best friends (and Yuuri only auditioned because of him in the first place), the staff graciously let them be.

Another staffer informed them to pick one of the stickers on the table and stick it to the allocated space on their name tags that were displayed low across their abdomens. From what Yuuri could see, the stickers were of the letters A, B, C, D, and F.

“So we’re gonna to grade ourselves?” Phichit asked, and without any hesitation in his body, he immediately grabbed a C. His best friend waved it in front of him. “Because it’s the middle of my name! And I think I’m not so bad.”

“I think you can grade yourself higher than that,” Yuuri said, smiling fondly when Phichit just rolled his eyes and started removing the backing paper of the sticker.

Yuuri took another look at the letters. He supposed he wasn’t an F, so that left… “I guess I’ll go with this.”

Phichit looked up and when he saw the letter D sticker Yuuri was holding, he shook his head wildly. “No, no, no, no.” He deftly plucked it out of his hand and returned it to the table before picking up another one.

“This grade.” Phichit grabbed his wrist and placed the sticker in his hand. “This one suits you much better.”

Yuuri turned it around and the letter A greeted him. He raised an eyebrow and sighed. “Phichit, you’re an amazing friend. I will always be thankful for you, but we need to be realistic.”

“That is realistic! Have you seen yourself dance?”

“Of course? I do practice in the studio and there are mirrors there?”

“You know that wasn’t what I—you know what? Never mind. These are just self-grades anyway. I’m sure you’ll get a better grade from the mentors.”

“Please don’t jinx it,” Yuuri joked. He looked at the A sticker still grasped in his hand again and shook his head in disbelief. He still had a long way to go before he could reach that level despite Phichit’s unwavering belief in his abilities, but that was why Yuuri was here, wasn’t it? To become better.

Yuuri blinked out of his stupor when one of the staff, a middle-aged woman, told them to get ready because they would be out soon.

Everything was happening fast, too fast for Yuuri’s comfort, and his heart thundered against his chest again. Flustered, he hurriedly grabbed another sticker and placed it on his nametag. He looked down at it and breathed a sigh of relief. D. Good. He didn’t know what he would do if he had accidentally grabbed the A.

Phichit sighed aloud and looked at his own reflection in the mirror as he fixed his hair. “Oh well, the viewers can have the underdog story they wanted,” he muttered.

Yuuri walked to stand next to his friend and used his elbow to jab him. Yuuri looked into the mirror as well. “The most important thing though is that we’re doing this together, right?”

They looked at each other’s reflection. “Of course,” Phichit replied with a smile and an undeniable sparkle in his eyes. Yuuri smiled back at him.

Noticing something on the table, Phichit squinted at it and frowned in contemplation. “Wait, is that a marker?” He turned to the staff lining the other side of the room. “Are we supposed to write something on the mirror?”

The same woman from before shook her head. Yuuri thought that she might be one of the head staff, so he should probably know her name since they would be working together for quite some time. Assuming that Yuuri wouldn’t immediately get kicked out of the show, that is.

“No, not really, but…” She talked with the cameraman beside her for a few seconds before she continued, “Okay, go for it. Write something short, then proceed here”—she gestured to the dim pathway—“to get to the stage.”

So Yuuri was correct; it did lead to the stage. But did it matter? _This was it_. He couldn’t breathe. He will be dead before he could even set foot on the stage.

But as he watched Phichit pick up the marker and write something on the mirror, he felt lighter, laughter threatening to spill from his lips.

Phichit took a few steps backward to look at his work and nodded to himself. They exchanged looks before laughing aloud.

Yuuri was not dead. What did he ever do to deserve Phichit as his friend? They still couldn’t keep the grins off their faces as they walked through the ominous pathway and entered the stage area...

Which was ridiculously big for just ten trainees. Oh, wow. _YNY is really something else._

They went to the middle and bowed first before surveying the four-tiered platforms in front of them. There were ten numbered chairs set up like a triangle, with a big number 1 chair at the top, and numbers 7 to 10 at the bottom. The only seats that remained available were numbers three, four, and five.

Phichit mumbled to himself, something about unfair and high rank and expectations, but Yuuri didn’t catch any of it because he was busy looking at the other seated trainees, who were looking back at them in anticipation.

Ah, Jean-Jacques Leroy was seated at the top. From what Yuuri could see, his self-grade was unsurprisingly an A. Yuuri didn’t know anyone else, though he noted that the one currently seated in the number 2 seat had godly looks, and the blond one seated in number 10 looked young and had given  himself an F. Yuuri inwardly frowned. 10th and an F? Number 10 was clearly too hard on himself.

“No choice. Four and five so we can still be seated together?” Phichit tilted his head.

Yuuri shrugged. “Sure.”

They walked up, and Yuuri could feel someone staring at his back. For some reason, he knew it was number 10. Yuuri glanced over and caught the young man talking to his seatmate while looking at him. Was he already on someone’s bad side so quickly? Maybe he had misunderstood Yuuri when he looked at him earlier?

Inwardly sighing, Yuuri went to sit in the 5th seat, but Phichit beat him to it. “Nope, you go sit higher than me,” he said, sticking his tongue out in playful defiance.

“You should really stop that,” Yuuri said, but sat in the 4th chair nonetheless. Phichit ignored him and turned to his seatmate on the other side.

“Hi! My name’s Phichit Chulanont. You are?”

The blond man with a carefully-trimmed beard looked surprised, and Yuuri was worried for a second that he’d end up being a snob, until the corner of his lips lifted. He put a hand on his chest and tipped his head a little. “Emil Nekola, at your service.”

Yuuri smiled and tipped his head as well. “Yuuri Katsuki. It’s nice to meet you, uh… Nekola.”

“Emil, please. We’re not actually gonna go with last names when it’s just gonna be ten of us, are we, Yuuri?”

“That’s true!” Phichit said. “But speaking of, where’s the tenth—oh, there he is.”

A guy wearing all-black attire calmly went to the center of the stage, bowed at them, and went straight to the remaining seat: the 3rd. When he passed by number 10 to walk up the stairs, Yuuri noticed that number 10’s eyes were wide as he whispered something to the guy beside him. Number 3 _was_ quite intimidating; he exuded a confident aura. It wasn’t arrogance, but his movements didn’t have a bit of hesitation in it. He looked older than Yuuri, so maybe that was why, but there was something about him that Yuuri couldn’t pinpoint…

But who cared about that, right? Especially when _Viktor friggin’ Nikiforov_ was appearing from the tunnel entrance. Yuuri, along with the others, immediately stood up and bowed as the rest of the mentors followed the top idol of the century.

Chris, Yuri, Otabek, Mila, Lilia…

 _Oh my god._ YNY’s best of the best, all on one stage. Yuuri couldn’t believe it.

“Hello, trainees!” Viktor… Mentor Viktor? greeted. “Sit down, sit down!”

Yuuri moved on autopilot, still starstruck in seeing all of his idols together _and oh my god he was this close to them!!!!_ The choking sound he heard beside him told Yuuri that he wasn’t the only one having a mental breakdown.

Mentor Viktor continued to smile, and he waited until everyone was seated before he spoke again. “It’s nice to finally meet you all! But before we do anything, let us introduce ourselves first, yes?”

Was there even a need to, seriously? But again, autopilot. Yuuri nodded along.

Viktor Nikiforov, lead mentor. Yuri Plisetsky, rap mentor. Mila Babicheva and Otabek Altin, vocal mentors. Chris Giacometti and Lilia Baranovskaya, dance mentors.

After they introduced themselves, the staff had brought out a long table and placed it in front of the tiered platforms. The mentors took their seats, their backs towards the trainees. In the middle was Mentor Viktor. Mentor Lilia was on the farthest left, Mentor Mila was to her right, and Mentor Chris was to right of her seated next to Mentor Viktor. On Mentor Viktor’s right was Mentor Yuri and then Mentor Otabek.

Yuuri’s brain was probably fried by the sheer amount of talent radiating from the table just a few feet away from him because the next thing he knew, their “First Grade Evaluation” was in progress.

Seung Gil Lee, the stoic guy who was very much looked the part of an idol already with his godly looks, was given a B. It was intimidating to start the grade evaluations with an amazing dancer, and yet, he was _only given a B_. If it were up to Yuuri, that was definitely an A material performance. However, the mentors had different opinions. Mentor Viktor had pointed out where he was lacking ( _emotions_ , he said) and Mentor Lilia agreed ( _there was no grace_ , she added).

Emil was next, and he prepared a song and dance performance. _That,_ in Yuuri’s humble opinion, was quite lacking. Maybe Emil hadn’t done sufficient breathing exercises before; his singing was faltering by the time he entered the second half of the song. In the end, his performance was graded D. It was one level lower than the self-grade he had given himself.

When it was Jean-Jacques Leroy’s turn, Yuuri leaned forward in his seat to see better. (He preferred to have his glasses, but the staff insisted he wear contacts instead. He still wasn’t used to them yet.) Yuuri wasn’t really one to surf the internet, but being best friends with Phichit was enough for him to be updated in the latest happenings. Jean-Jacques Leroy, popularly known as JJ, had gained his following from being a teen model until he had his own original fashion brand, and recently, he had been showcasing his vocal prowess in multiple shows.

Leroy was the non-royalty wonder who was said to share the same number of fans with Yuri Plisetsky. When Phichit showed him a tweet from YNY’s official account about History Makers, they scrolled down and had seen that most of the replies were cheers and support from Leroy’s fans.

If Yuuri had any doubts before, watching the model perform erased all that. Leroy would surely win. If not the first place, then the second. Yuuri could feel the hairs on his skin stand when Leroy hit high notes one after the other, doing it so casually as he combed his fingers through his medium-length hair. His high notes were powerful, strong, and something that Yuuri could never achieve.

From Leroy’s self-graded A, he was given a C.

“Holy shit,” Phichit said to Yuuri, so lowly that he almost didn’t catch it. Yuuri understood though; it would be a disaster to say those things when they had microphones attached to their collars. “Their standards are so high. That’s YNY for you.”

Yuuri didn’t say anything and simply nodded as he listened to what Mentor Otabek had to say ( _it’s not always about the high notes_ ). Yuuri’s insides were frozen, his legs were jelly. YNY _does_ have extremely high standards. What was Yuuri doing here?

A man with thick eyebrows and also medium-length hair (but brown, not blond like Leroy) hair focused his performance on vocals and retained his D grade. “I hope to see you improve more as the show continues,” Mentor Mila said. Yuuri had to smile at the relief visible on Leo de la Iglesia’s face as he excitedly thanked the mentors and said how glad he was that at least he still had the same grade before he went back to his seat, 8th.

Mentor Chris stretched his arms above him before placing his chin on his hand. “We’re almost halfway done now, but still no A?” He turned around and looked at each of them, and Yuuri was sure that the dance mentor looked at him straight in the eye for more than a few seconds. No, Yuuri was probably just being paranoid.

“I wonder if the next one can give us an A-worthy performance, hmm?” Mentor Chris finished, giving them a smile.

“Who should be next?” Mentor Mila asked.

Yuuri fervently prayed that his name wouldn’t be the one called next.

“So how about…” Mentor Viktor shuffled papers and stopped. “Oh, how about Georgi? Come here.”

Yuuri squinted. There was number 3 again. There was really something about him that Yuuri just couldn’t quite put a finger on. When “Georgi” stood in front and coughed into his fist, Yuuri almost stood up in shock. He whipped his head to Phichit and hurriedly said, “It’s one of Viktor’s back-up dancers from Carabosse!”

“Eh?” Phichit looked at Georgi, then back at him. “I don’t think I know him.”

Yuuri opened his mouth to continue but Georgi started to introduce himself ( _Georgi Popovich, 27, I would like to focus more on rap and dance),_ so he closed it and watched attentively instead.

There were high expectations for Georgi from the mentors, and even if he didn’t say it out loud, Yuuri knew that Mentor Viktor was keeping an eye on him. _And hell, he was really Georgi._ Well, Yuuri didn’t really know his name before—only by the nickname other fans had given him, which was “eyeliner”—but he was familiar with him. He had watched a lot of Mentor Viktor’s concerts and live performances before, and it was hard to take his eyes off his idol, but when he checked the comments and saw someone mention about how the back-up dancer was on point during a certain part, he watched the same video again. The back-up dancer was _really_ on point.

Georgi was so good, and yet, he had given himself a C. Yuuri knew that _he knew_ he was good—he was given the opportunity to be in a lot of the lead mentor’s performances. But hearing him take criticisms well as the mentors gave their comments, Yuuri realized that Georgi was amazing not just because he was a good performer, but because he was a good listener. He was given a B.

There was still no A in sight.

A young man with messy, blond hair was next. It was number 10 with the scary stare, but he wasn’t so scary anymore now that Yuuri could see him shaking. In the end, his dance turned out to be clumsy. However, from the F he had given himself, Mentor Viktor announced that his new grade was C. “It’s important to see the potential in your dance,” the mentor had said, calm and understanding. “I’m sure that once you ease your nerves and with more practice, you will do great. Good luck!”

The next person who walked down the stage reminded Yuuri of someone. When he introduced himself as Michele Crispino, Yuuri finally knew who it was and let out an amazed wow. He hadn’t known that the famous actress Sara Crispino had a brother. Phichit would definitely gush about it later when they’re alone; he liked to watch some of the movies and dramas Sara was in.

Michele started his performance okay, but a few minutes in, Yuuri could see the tell-tale signs of nervousness. His eyes started to dart to the sides, moves losing focus until he had to completely stop in the middle of a verse because he apparently had forgotten the lyrics.

“I want to be acknowledged on my own merits, to be more than my sister’s brother,” Michele had explained when the mentors asked him what was wrong, “but I am still not as confident as her. I used to rely on her a lot, and I still do. I can’t even perform properly without her to support me. I know I need to be better alone, but...”

Mentor Viktor nodded at him, and his voice was gentle when he spoke. “I think that it is brave of you to acknowledge your weakness. It’s a good thing to be aware of what you need to improve. We will help you work on that.”

“Don’t worry, Michele. I can help you a lot with confidence.” Mentor Chris winked and jokingly added, “Just tell your sister to visit here at least once, okay?”

Michele nodded with a soft laugh and bowed. “Thank you very much, mentors.”

In the end, Michele received the first grade F. Yuuri watched him go back to his seat below him, in 9th, and kept in mind to reach out to him later. Maybe they could help each other out.

When Phichit’s name was called, Yuuri patted him on the back and watched him go down, knowing that he likely looked like an idiot from the wide smile he couldn’t keep off his face. Phichit was smiling too; he was the very definition of a ball of energy, so active and hyper that the slight tremble of his hands wouldn’t be noticeable unless you were his best friend.

“Hello!” Phichit took a quick, deep bow. “My name’s Phichit Chulanont, I’m 20 years old, and I love to rap!”

The mentors all turned to look at Mentor Yuri Plisetsky, who simply leaned forward with lazy grace and rested his chin on his palm. Yuuri saw Mentor Viktor elbow him and lean over to whisper something. Mentor Yuri groaned before he hastily grabbed the microphone and brought it near his face. “Lookin’ forward to your attempt,” he drawled out.

Mentor Viktor elbowed him again. “Yep! We only have two trainees whose main focus is rap, right? Georgi earlier was the other one. We’re very excited!”

“No pressure,” Mentor Mila added with a laugh.

Phichit rubbed the back of his neck and laughed too, though his sounded strained. “I’ll do my best. Thank you!” He walked backward a bit before he removed the strap of the cap by his hips and wore it on his head backwards. Yuuri smiled, fully aware of Phichit’s full capabilities as a rapper. He knew he would do great, just like he usually did.

Yuuri rubbed his hands together trying to warm them. It was really cold. He should’ve brought his mittens.

Phichit performed the rap he had worked on, and Yuuri bobbed his head to the beat, noticing that the others did, too. The rap was fluid; the rhythm was good, the enunciation was good. It was _way_ better than when they had rehearsed like hell the day before. By the end of his performance, there was a short dance break, and Phichit danced the choreography that, to Yuuri’s surprise and horror, the two of them had created for fun some time ago.

The choreography had some wild hip movements and ridiculous face expressions.

Yuuri thought that it might not have been a good idea, but seeing the smiles on the other trainees’ faces and especially on Phichit’s himself, it wasn’t bad at all.

Especially since Mentors Mila and Chris still kept on laughing when they were supposed to be giving comments.

“Sorry, sorry! It’s just—it’s not that we’re laughing at you, okay?” Mentor Mila said, taking a deep breath and wiping the tears forming at the corner of her eyes before continuing. “We’re laughing _with_ you. It’s very refreshing to see someone who genuinely looks happy while performing.”

Mentor Chris nodded. “That was the most fun performance I have watched in a while. I loved it a lot. I don’t know much about rapping, but your entire performance is a show I’m willing to watch over and over again.”

Yuuri was overflowing with feelings of pride for his best friend, and he was about to stand and clap when the rap mentor coughed. “Not that outstanding,” he said. Phichit’s face fell and Yuuri wanted to throw his shoes at the young royal right then and there.

“What? You wanted me to give my input. Here it is. His rap wasn’t outstanding,” Mentor Yuri said to the lead mentor before he faced Phichit. “Sure, you’re decent, but decent is not what we’re looking for, is it? We need better trainees. The _best_ ones. Someone worthy enough to be a part of YNY. You think you can be that?”

Phichit stood straighter. “It is what I aim to be.”

Mentor Yuri hummed and sat back, but Yuuri had the feeling that he was impressed. The mentors talked for a while, and when Mentor Viktor announced that Phichit maintained his C, Mentor Chris crossed his arms while Mentor Yuri simply shrugged.

Yuuri would’ve liked to decipher what that meant but _oh god_ , it was his turn. Yuuri stood up and walked down the stage, clasping Phichit’s hand tightly when they passed by each other. His best friend wished him good luck and Yuuri needed it badly.

While going down, he heard Mentor Viktor let out an ‘oh’ before he lowered his microphone and said something to Mentor Chris beside him. The dance mentor nodded and they both shared a laugh. _Huh?_

After getting a microphone from the staff, Yuuri went to the center of the stage. He hoped the confusion wasn't evident on his face as he took his spot in front of the mentors. He smiled a bit and bowed. “Hello. My name is Yuuri Katsuki. I’m 23.” He gripped his microphone tighter and looked at the floor.

“You’re singing an original song? ‘Blue bird’?” Mentor Viktor asked, surprise evident in his voice.

That made Yuuri’s head pop up. “Ah, yes! It is the first song that I made,” he said, and he inwardly cringed immediately after. He sounded _too_ excited. His idol didn’t look impressed.

“So it’s just a song performance? You won’t dance?” Mentor Viktor asked.

Yuuri bit his lip. He really wasn’t impressed, was he? “Ah, well, there’s a choreography to the song, but I can do just a dance performance if the mentors want me to,” Yuuri replied without really thinking; he just wanted to salvage any good impressions he had left.

“Ok! Great! Sing your song, the stage is yours!”

Yuuri nodded, went to the center of the stage, and inhaled. The sudden pressure of standing under the lights almost overwhelmed him, but he let out the breath he was holding in and steadied himself. There wasn’t as much dancing in this song since he wanted to show more of his singing capabilities, but it was okay. He’d just do his best.

 _Ding, ding, ding._ The music played and he brought his microphone up. He was flustered at the attention he was getting, not just from the mentors, but also from the other trainees and the seemingly hundreds of cameras watching his every move just waiting for him to make a mistake.

And he did, during the small dance break before the final verse.

Yuuri closed his eyes as the song ended. His performance was sloppy. If he was lucky, maybe he could at least still retain his grade.

“You said you made the song,” Mentor Otabek said, and Yuuri opened his eyes to see him lean forward and interlock his fingers, “but what parts, exactly? The lyrics? How about in the actual music composition?”

Yuuri shuffled his feet, unable to look at any of the mentors in the eye. “I both composed the song and wrote the lyrics,” he shyly said. It wasn’t anything outstanding; he just randomly make some beats for fun sometimes. To be completely honest, Yuuri simply wasn’t confident enough to do a cover of any of the songs he liked since most of them were from YNY artists themselves. So to be on the safe side, he ended up using something of his own. But even that, he had messed up.

"It's good." Otabek nodded and looked at the paper Yuuri assumed contained the lyrics of his song. "The harmonies blend well with the melody. You used an interesting downtempo sound. The track is clean, and your use of purposeful silence is refreshing."

It was like the first ray of sun peeking through dark clouds. Yuuri could feel warmth in his chest spreading from the praise, even though he didn’t understand any of it. (He just did it _for fun._ ) But this was Otabek Altin, the composer of Samarkand Overture. _His favorite movie soundtrack of all time._ Yuuri opened his mouth, ready to express his gratitude for the mentor’s nice words, but Mentor Yuri beat him to it.

"So you can write as well, huh?" He looked bored as he took the paper from the vocal mentor. "Sure, the rhythm's good. Catchy, even. But there's no actual meaning to your lyrics. It's just a bunch of poetic words thrown around."

Yuuri swallowed. "Um."

"You said you can also dance for us if we wanted you to, right?" Mentor Viktor said, smiling with closed lips and Yuuri wanted to just drop and die on the spot. His favorite idol looked even more handsome in person. Not trusting his voice to not betray him, he just nodded in response.

Mentor Viktor brought his hands together. "Yay! I want to see that."

The mentors exchanged glances and Yuuri could see Mentor Mila whispering something in Mentor Lilia's ear. His heart hammered against his chest, and he had to purposely remind himself to breathe again. _He could do this. He had wanted this. He could still do better._

Yuuri faced the right, feet apart, hand at the back of his neck as he rolled it a little. The first beats of _I Want You_ entered his ears and his body immediately moved.

At first, he didn’t look at anyone because he was afraid of losing his focus. But somewhere in the middle of the routine, he forgot he was standing on that large stage with multiple cameras recording him from each direction and with the prestigious mentors in front of him scrutinizing his every move. Yuuri was simply dancing his heart out, just like he was alone back in the dimly lit studio all over again.

He popped his chest and turned his body to the side, returning back to the same position he started in. He twirled a hand up before bringing it to his chest and on the final beat, he looked to the front stretching his hand out.

And with a sudden, ear splitting shatter to the space he had created for himself during his routine, Yuuri came back to the real world, back to the blinding lights where he heard voracious cheers. He was positive that it was Phichit screaming his name louder than the rest.

Yuuri blinked and brought down his hand, stood up straight and regained his composure as he waited for the mentors to begin their comments.

They were still discussing amongst themselves with their microphones down. They were just far enough away that Yuuri couldn't distinguish actual words from the sounds he could hear, but Mentor Viktor was the most animated with a frown marring his face as he talked with the others.

Just how badly did Yuuri mess up again? In front of _Viktor Nikiforov?_

They were still talking when Yuuri saw movement from the corner of his eyes. Mentor Lilia leaned forward and pulled the microphone near her face.

Lilia Baranovskaya, the choreographer that Yuuri looked up to. This experience was insane.

"I can see that you haven't fully polished it yet," she started, and Yuuri waited for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. What was he thinking, performing a half-assed choreo like that?

Mentor Lila continued to speak, but everything was only entering in one ear and going out the other. It was like watching it all happen from an outsider perspective and his eyes nervously darted to the rest of the mentors—

Who were nodding their heads and looking at him in anticipation. _What? Were they asking him something?_

Oh, shit. Yuuri had totally zoned out on that one. “Um?”

Mentor Viktor just shook his head slightly and smiled at him. “No worries,” he said. “You don’t really have to tell us right now, though I’m pretty sure we’ll find it sooner or later anyway.” And winked.

Yuuri didn’t have the time to think about it further as the lead mentor sat up straighter and said, “Yuuri Katsuki, your first evaluation grade is…”

Yuuri swallowed... and why was it taking so long?! Mentor Viktor just kept smiling a really weird smile at him, and it was really putting him on edge. He knew that they needed to build suspense and give the viewers a bit of a thrill since the show would be on television, but really, couldn’t they just achieve it with the editing? He could feel his heartbeat in his ears, and seriously, _just not F, please. Not an F._

“B.”

Yuuri blinked. Did he hear that right? That couldn’t possibly be right? B, like Seung Gil Lee from earlier?

But the other trainees were standing up, clapping and Yuuri could see the amazed expression on most of their faces. He turned to look at Phichit and paused when he saw tears in his eyes.

Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh; an incredulous sound, both from the disbelief of his grade and from his best friend’s ridiculous antics.

Remembering that he was still in front of the mentors, he hurriedly brought his arms together and bowed. “I’m not sure if I deserve this grade, but thank you! I didn’t expect this, not at all. This is—”

“Nu-uh, enough of that. You deserved it,” Mentor Chris said with a sly smile. “You dance well. I’ll be looking forward to your future performances.”

Yuuri’s head was still stuck in the clouds as he walked back to his seat. Phichit was grinning at him and Yuuri couldn’t focus on what he was saying, but the grin on his own face never left. Yuuri guessed it was some words of praise again, which Phichit liked to do. Phichit was the best best friend Yuuri could have ever hoped for.

The last performance was from Guang Hong Ji, a slender young man who appeared to be shy until he started dancing. The sheer intensity of it made Yuuri’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. There were really people out there like that, huh? People who changed auras while performing. They were amazing. Number 7 was another good-looking guy, too. His grade rose from D to C.

“And with that, the first grade evaluation is over!” Mentor Mila said, stretching her arms upward. She looked back at them with a grin. “But it’s not yet over for you guys.”

Eh?

Mentor Viktor stood up and faced them, a finger on his lips. “Yep! We now have your first mission! Learning the show’s theme song and filming it, of course.”

There were growing murmurs of excitement and even Yuuri couldn’t stop beaming right along with Phichit. It’s _those_ , right? The short music videos that Yuuri had seen in other reality survival shows before. It would be so cool to film their very first MV!

But everyone’s excitement turned to dread when the mentor continued, “You have two days to learn the song and choreography, and after that, you will have to take a video of yourself performing it!”

 _Just two days?!_ Everyone was visibly taken aback, but no one voiced their thoughts out loud.

“Excuse me, but how many times can we film?” Number 10, who Yuuri remembered to be Kenjirou Minami, asked. Mentor Viktor raised a brow and with an incredulous tone, he replied, “Once, of course!”

Mentor Yuri twirled his chair around, crossed his legs, and rested his chin on his right hand. He gave them a long, leveled look. “It’s not like you can make mistakes on the stage and be like, ‘oh, I’m sorry, can we do it again’?” He scoffed. “Maybe if it’s a pre-recorded performance, sure, but what kind of performers will you be if you can’t do things live?”

Mentor Viktor nodded and smiled at them, but Yuuri couldn’t see it as anything more than a sadistic expression. “Mila will teach you the song while Chris will help you with the choreography during those two days, so make sure to take advantage of it well! After that, you can film yourselves one by one in any of the practice rooms. Is it all clear?”

Yuuri nodded. Okay. He could do that.

“You forgot the important thing,” Mentor Chris said, nudging Mentor Viktor with a small grin before also facing them. “We’ll be watching your videos and grading your performances. I guess it will basically be your second grade evaluation? It’s gonna be the best time to work on the things we had mentioned.”

“Redeem yourselves,” Mentor Yuri muttered. Mentor Mila pinched him.

“Rest well, get familiarized with the place and with each other, and we’ll see each other again tomorrow. Great job today!” Mentor Viktor said.

“Thank you very much!” Yuuri said before standing and bowing.

A beat of silence.

Yuuri heard Phichit chuckle beside him and then the sounds of chairs screeching. Yuuri stood up, flustered, as the other trainees bowed and said their thanks as well. Mentor Viktor was looking at him amusedly. How was Yuuri supposed to know he was the only one who would do that? On the shows he had previously watched, all of the trainees did it together!

The mentors left the area and Yuuri let out a heavy breath before plopping down in the chair, leaning back and covering his face with his arm. “That was terrible,” he whined.

“What was? Your performance? It was anything but that,” he heard someone say, and when Yuuri removed his arm, he saw that it was Georgi from above him. Seung Gil, the one behind Yuuri, also nodded at him. “You dance well.”

Yuuri immediately stood back up again and faced them, bowing twice. “Oh, um, thank you! You two were really amazing, too! Powerful and graceful!”

Emil sighed exaggeratedly. “When the amazing guys just keep on praising each other, it gets boring to watch. C’mon, let’s all just eat already. Even the staff looks like they’re on break.”

Guang Hong and Leo both raised their hands. “Can we join you guys?”

“Me, me! Me, too! I’m starving. It’s past dinner time, isn’t it?” Kenjirou said.

Phichit’s stomach growled and with a serious look on his face, he nodded at Kenjirou’s statement. “Yes, it is,” he said. “How about you, Crispino?”

“Michele is fine,” he replied with a shrug. “And sure.”

Yuuri turned to look towards the top platform so he could also ask Leroy, but he was already walking toward the exit.

Still. “Leroy! Would you also like to eat with us?” he shouted.

Leroy paused and looked back at him. “I’m not hungry,” he said. And then he was gone.

Phichit raised a hand and used it to cover his mouth. “Not really friendly, is he?” he whispered. Yuuri didn’t have anything to reply, so he just shrugged.

The nine of them managed to find the cafeteria with a variety of (healthy) food to choose from. After they ate, they took their own short tour of the other rooms (there was a room full of musical instruments, apparently for songwriting, _amazing_ ), and finally, they went to their own rooms. Phichit and Yuuri were roommates, to no one’s surprise.

Phichit sat on Yuuri’s bed while Yuuri removed the accessories he had on him. “Freedom, finally,” Phichit said.

“There is still a camera in here, you know?” Yuuri said, looking at the lone camera on the ceiling above the door. “We are still seen.”

“Not if I do this.” Phichit stood up and turned off the lights.

Yuuri rolled his eyes at him before he playfully shoved him aside. “Smartass. We can still be heard and I’m pretty sure YNY’s cameras have super HD night vision, but nevermind. Go to sleep,” Yuuri said before he climbed up to his bed in the upper bunk and lied down.

“Yeah, yeah.” Yuuri couldn’t see it, but the bed’s movement informed him that Phichit had lied down on his bed, too.

“Good job today,” Yuuri said. He yawned and closed his eyes.

“Good job to you, too,” Phichit said, voice muffled. Yuuri guessed he was laying on his stomach. He said more, but Yuuri couldn’t decipher any of it.

“What did you say?”

The bed shook a bit, and then, “I said, Mentor Viktor really couldn’t take his eyes off you.”

“He didn’t take his eyes off _anyone_ who was performing. That makes him a good judge, and a good mentor.”

Silence followed. Yuuri thought that Phichit might’ve fallen asleep when he heard a snort that was too loud in their quiet room. “I’ll be suffering, won’t I?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“But I love you anyway. Let’s go to sleep. I’ll be counting on you to help me with the dance tomorrow.”

“Okay…?”

“Good night, Yuuri.”

Yuuri yawned. “Good night.”

 

* * *

 

Their dance mentor stood in front of them, clad in a branded sweater, a branded sweatpants, and a branded rubber shoes. Ah, _right,_ Rouis Buitton was their sponsor for this show. It was disorienting for Yuuri to see Mentor Chris clad in anything more than the usual revealing outfits he wore back when he was still in INTOXICATED, but of course, his current get-up must cost enough to pay for Yuuri’s entire lifetime’s worth of living expenses.

Mentor Chris clapped twice, loud. He looked at each of them before he hummed. “Good afternoon! You’ve listened to the song, right? It’s important that you know the feel of it before I teach you.”

Yuuri knew he and the other trainees were all thinking along the same lines of _as if there were a reality in which Mila hadn’t drilled the song into them so hard that ‘we were born to make history!’ wasn’t playing on loop in their minds,_ but, in silent agreement, they just nodded. The cameras were rolling.

“Good,” Mentor Chris said. “I’ll show you the entire choreography before I teach it part by part. Got it?”

“Yes!”

Mentor Chris turned on the speaker in the corner of the room and the song played. The song was mellow at the start, and Yuuri had assumed upon first listen that the actual choreography would begin with the chorus onwards where there were more beats.

He was correct. Mentor Chris only did little hand movements and some walking, likely the changes in blocking, during the intro and first verse.

_Set my heart on fire_

Mentor Chris raised a hand and looked up, slowly placing his hand on his chest.

_Don’t stop us now, the moment of truth, we were born to make history_

Yuuri could feel something was coming.

_We’ll make it happen, we’ll turn it around, yes we were born to make history_

The beat dropped, Mentor Chris’s body moved in time to the music, and Yuuri couldn’t stop his mouth from hanging open. First, the mentor was really an amazing, flexible dancer and every single step he did was exuding personality. The choreo might’ve been pieced together by the quality choreographers of YNY, but Mentor Chris had managed to _own_ it.

Second, that chorus wasn’t what he was expecting. The song was mellow all throughout the time they had listened and practiced it with Mentor Mila, so what was with that sudden drop? A trap remix?

Mentor Chris stood up with feet closed. He did a two-finger salute, and on the final beat, he twirled his hand down to place it in front of his chest and took a bow—just like the royalty he was.

“Wow,” Yuuri exhaled.

Thunderous claps echoed in the practice room, and Mentor Chris grinned at them as he wiped the sweat from his face with a towel given to him by the production staff. “Well? What do you think?”

Kenjirou’s eyes shone, and with hands clasped in front of him, he beamed, “What was that! Is this the official version of the song? How long did it take you to learn that? Just how high can you raise your legs?”

“Mila must’ve shown you the boring one, right? It’s the demo. I think she decided to use that one so you can focus on your vocals more, but yes, this is the final version and the one you will be using,” Chris said. “I learned the choreography in four hours, but of course, it took two more days before it was fully polished. And about this high.” He raised his right leg and hugged his thigh to his chest.

 _That_ was learned in four hours? Insane, but as expected of the idols from YNY.

“Why is your face like that?” Phichit asked, turning to Yuuri.

Yuuri shook his head. “It’s nothing. I just realized how amazing they really are and we are lucky to have this opportunity.”

Phichit looked like he was about to say something but was interrupted when Mentor Chris cleared his throat and did his loud clap again. “Let’s begin with the chorus since the blocking will come later.”

They learned the choreography part by part and if Yuuri had to be completely honest, it was quite at a slower pace than he was used to. In the end, they had to learn and cram the entire choreo in seven hours because the dance mentor needed to leave for a commercial shoot.

Dinner was eerily quiet. Everyone was exhausted from the non-stop barrage of choreography and Yuuri wanted to go straight to bed after, but they only had two days to learn and polish it. It would be a waste to spend time sleeping when he could work on improving himself; it was the reason why he applied in the first place, afterall.

After a short argument with the staff (he wanted to do the dishes but they wouldn’t let him), he invited Phichit to join him in one of the practice rooms. There were at least five of them in the east wing of the second floor, and without really a purpose in doing so, they went to the farthest room.

When they arrived, Yuuri was surprised to see that almost everyone else was there, too. _Well, we all joined to become better, didn’t we?_

Emil greeted them when they entered. Yuuri smiled back at him before he went straight to Kenjirou, who was doing a part of the choreography as he stood in front of the mirror. Yuuri touched his right elbow and brought it up a bit higher.

“At this part, your elbow should be about 45 degrees from your body, and make your left arm and hand straight,” Yuuri said. He stepped back and looked at the mirror as Kenjirou followed his instructions. “See? Now there’s a good line in there.”

Kenjirou sharply turned around and Yuuri held his breath. _That wasn’t a nice thing to do, was it?_ Giving unsolicited advice. He suddenly remembered how heavy his stare was back during the grade evaluations and Yuuri inwardly flinched. He really didn’t want to be on bad terms with anyone, especially since he knew they were all just aiming to make their dreams come true.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped, um, Kenjirou,” Yuuri said. He scratched his cheek and smiled sheepishly. “Can I call you Kenjirou?”

“Of course, Mr. Yuuri Katsuki! And what are you talking about?”

“Eh?”

“You learned the choreography after, like, seeing it once! As expected of you! Beautiful! That was so cool, Mr. Yuuri Katsuki!”

Yuuri blinked and only managed to compose himself after hearing Phichit’s chuckle. He elbowed him before facing Kenjirou. “Um, thank you? But just Yuuri, please. Calling my full name with a mister makes me feel so old.”

Kenjirou’s face turned red before he bowed repeatedly. “Sorry! Sorry! That wasn’t what I intended, Mr—I mean, Yuuri!”

Before Yuuri could reply, the door opened and they all turned to see Leroy, a foot inside the room and a hand still holding the knob. He blinked twice, frowned, and walked away, softly closing the door behind him.

Yuuri was so confused.

“He’s quite uh… he really doesn’t seem to want to join us,” Guang Hong said.

Emil shrugged. “He’s on a pretty high level on his own.” He turned to Yuuri and smirked. “I won’t be going all fanboy on you like Kenjirou here, but you were really good in picking up the steps earlier.”

“Hey!” Kenjirou huffed, crossing his arms.

Phichit chuckled and slung an arm around Yuuri’s shoulders. “Yep, that’s my best friend for you.”

Leo let out a small smile. “You two really are close.”

“Yeah. I can’t get rid of him. I tried,” Yuuri joked. They laughed at that, and then they went back to work.

Yuuri taught techniques that would help them, especially those who were having a hard time with the faster parts in the second chorus, to learn and ingrain the movements into their bodies easier. It was eleven in the evening when they finally decided to stop and continue the next day.

Due to Mentor Mila’s schedule with her group, the vocal training wasn’t able to happen until later in the afternoon, so they had dance training first.

Mentor Chris commended on their visible improvement, mentioning how they probably practiced like hell the night before, which was exactly what happened. They didn’t need to learn the steps again, but rather just polish their styles, and Mentor Chris had been patient with them all throughout.

The vocal training went well, too. Mentor Mila especially gave special mentions to Leroy, who was the only one who could hit the high note at the end perfectly, and to Emil, who had much better breathing than before.

After dinner, the trainees met again in the same practice room and went over the components of their upcoming performances. Sometimes they would sing, sometimes they would polish steps. Sometimes they would just goof around. Yuuri was nervous at first, but the staff encouraged them to just do whatever they liked and pretend that they weren’t there (which was _impossible_ ). He was glad that everyone was easy to talk with and that they all managed to hit it off so well. It would be sad if they were just ten and they still couldn’t all get along, especially since they would be together for quite some time.

Well, there was Leroy, but still.

They lost track of time and when they decided to call it a day, it was already three in the morning. Fortunately, the self-filming would still be taking place after lunch. There would still be some time for rest.

 

* * *

 

Yuuri didn’t have the time to practice more in the morning; he only managed to wake up just in time for lunch. He had to wake up Phichit, too, and based from everyone’s faces at the cafeteria, he’d say he wasn’t the only one who had just rolled out of bed.

All the practice rooms looked the same, but Yuuri didn’t feel at ease in the one they were in, which was the room closest to the stairs. Perhaps the ominous-looking digital camera on a tripod near the mirrors (and near the staff holding another bunch of cameras, silently filming their every twitch) had something to do with it, but who knows, right?

They all sat on the floor, leaning against the wall to the side that the digital camera’s view didn’t reach. “Okay, who’s first?” Emil asked. He turned to Leroy. “Would you like to go first? You’re seated at number 1, after all.”

Yuuri glanced at the C on Leroy’s name tag. The words may have came off different, but Yuuri hoped Leroy understood that Emil didn’t mean anything by them from the gentle way he spoke.

“Sure, but if we’re going by that logic you should be after me,” Leroy said, looking at Seung Gil during the last bit.

Seung Gil shrugged. “Okay.”

“That will make this faster since we don’t have to point fingers at who should go next,” Leroy said, voice surprisingly level. He stood up and walked to the camera. He clicked the shutter and crouched down, getting eye-level with the lens.

“It’s JJ Style,” he said.

Yuuri choked. Wasn’t that the name of his brand? _Promoting, really?_ Yuuri supposed it was strategic.

Leroy walked to the center and nodded at the staff near the speakers. The music played and all the restrained laughter coming from the trainees abruptly stopped as Leroy sang the first line of the song. From the moment he finished belting out an adlib until he walked back to the camera to click the shutter, the room was completely silent.

“Wow,” Yuuri said as Leroy went back to sit next to him. “That was really great, Leroy.”

Leroy looked sideways at him and sighed. “Thank you. JJ is fine. We’re all on a first-name basis, aren’t we?”

Right. Why was Yuuri only calling him by his last name? Leroy—no, JJ returned to looking forward and Yuuri took that as a sign that it wasn’t a question he actually need to answer. Seung Gil was next, and he didn’t do anything extra like JJ did. He went straight into performing. He had beautiful lines, but Yuuri couldn’t help but mirror the frown on Seung Gil’s face as he danced. Seung Gil had the dance memorized, but not the song? Or maybe he was having trouble with dancing and singing at the same time. That would be a problem.

Since they were going with their ranks from before, Georgi was next and, unsurprisingly, he performed great. Yuuri thought he and Phichit did well on theirs, with very minimal mistakes. Emil’s improvements were really evident as he managed to finish the entire song still breathing hard, but not as heavily as he did during the first grading evaluation. Guang Hong looked like he was simply enjoying the song, which was in contrast to Leo’s weak performance. Was Leo feeling under the weather?

Yuuri suddenly felt nervous as Michele’s turn came next. Out of everyone in the past two days, Yuuri had been helping Michele and Kenjirou the most. It wasn’t that they weren’t good, because they _were_ , but they need a guide and Yuuri didn’t mind being that.

Michele was doing well and Yuuri could almost breathe better, until he stopped raising his hand halfway in the chorus and then stopped singing and dancing altogether. He was blinking fast and Yuuri hurriedly stood up and went behind the digital camera, mouthing the lines of the song and doing the corresponding choreography pointedly.

Michele looked at him, but Yuuri could tell that it took a while before he could actually _see_ him. When Michele finally continued, Yuuri walked back to his seat, placing a hand on his chest and breathing out. Phichit raised two thumbs up and Yuuri lifted a corner of his mouth, unable to raise a thumbs up back at him. He felt drained.

After Michele turned off the recording, he went straight to Yuuri and hugged him.

“You’re a life-saver. I completely blanked there,” Michele said, letting go of Yuuri.

“No problem,” Yuuri said. He understood.

“But you won’t always have a Yuuri in your life, you know,” Leo said.

“Except if you’re me,” Phichit quipped.

Michele laughed. “I know. I still kind of panic sometimes when... but I’ll work harder.” The _when I look around and don’t see my sister_ went unsaid, but they understood all the same.

Kenjirou stood up and jumped. “Yes, that’s the spirit, Michele! It’s my turn now!”

The recording started, and Kenjirou did a lot of ad libs in his choreography, adding peace signs and jumps with perfect timing that you’d think it was an actual part of the choreography. There were times when he wouldn’t sing, too focused on the dance, but it didn’t take away the fact that it was fun to watch.

A staffer appeared from the shadows, and Yuuri’s heart couldn’t take any more, seriously. A man who looked to be in his early 30’s nodded at them. “We’ll now be taking the recordings to the mentors. Rest, eat well, and please go to the stage area at 7 PM. Thank you and good job, everyone.”

The trainees stood up and bowed. “Thank you very much!”

 _Okay, see?_ Saying thank you and bowing in chorus was a Thing. Why did Yuuri have to do it alone when he was in front of the mentors, especially Mentor Viktor?

Time passed by quickly and they were soon back at the stage area where they performed for the first time. The leveled platforms were still there, but instead of chairs set up in a triangle formation, it was now just divided into two rows.

Yuuri was seated in the first row with Michele on his left and Phichit, who went straight to the middle chair when they arrived, on his right. Next to Phichit was Guang Hong and Leo. The rest were in the second row and even without turning around, Yuuri knew Kenjirou was seated directly behind him. He could physically _feel_ his stare. Yuuri squirmed in his seat.

Mentor Viktor entered the area and they all stood up and bowed, greeting the mentor who looked too pristine for that evening. His hair was lightly styled to look messier than it usually was, and he wore a dark green turtleneck sweater under a leather jacket partnered with black jeans tucked into what appeared to be a Dr. Martin’s boots.

“Ah, good evening,” Mentor Viktor greeted. He smiled and gestured with his left hand that wasn’t holding the microphone, but a rectangular paper that Yuuri believe was a prompter. “Please take your seats.”

When they were all seated, Mentor Viktor was already at the podium by the side of the newly set-up smaller stage in the middle. A stage inside the stage area. YNY and their Ice Castle were really ridiculous.

“How have you guys been? Sleeping enough?” the mentor asked.

“What is sleep!” Phichit shouted.

Yuuri was afraid for his best friend, but Mentor Viktor simply chuckled and instantly made all his worries disappear. “I get that. I don’t get to sleep for any longer than two hours some days. How was the training with the Chris and Mila?” Mentor Viktor looked at them and Yuuri’s breath hitched when their eyes met, but the mentor continued to roam his eyes until it landed on someone behind him. “Jean-Jacques Leroy?”

“They were very helpful and patient in teaching us. I have learned a lot from them,” JJ immediately replied, tone gentle. Yuuri couldn’t completely stop the surprise with a little bit of skepticism that washed over him, but he hoped it wasn’t too obvious for the staff to notice it and include it in the episode to be aired that week.

Mentor Viktor nodded. “You have also been training a lot on your own, haven’t you? I’ve heard that you spend all your free time in the practice room.”

“It was necessary. I need to be better.”

That was so familiar that it felt like someone physically squeezed Yuuri’s heart. Just how many times had Yuuri said that to himself? And JJ had been practicing? Why didn’t he join them?

“That’s a good attitude! Keep it up, keep it up.” Mentor Viktor nodded again and hummed to himself. His eyes roamed again. “How about you, Kenjirou Minami?”

“Just Kenjirou is fine, Mr. Viktor!”

Mentor Viktor looked visibly taken aback, and Yuuri couldn’t help but chuckle, knowing the feeling all too well.

The idol blinked and stood up straighter, fixing his jacket and coughing at the side before he raised his microphone. “Okay, Kenjirou. But just Viktor as well, if you may?”

“Does the ‘mister’ make you feel old?” Kenjirou asked. Yuuri looked back at him in horror.

Mentor Viktor blinked. “I suppose it does,” he said. He chuckled and ran a finger through his hair before bringing the hand down to put his index finger in front of his lips. He closed an eye in an exaggerated wink. “But I don’t _look_ old now, do I?”

Yuuri shook his head wildly the same time Kenjirou said, “No, definitely not at all!”

Mentor Viktor laughed, and really, was it fair to have a laugh that beautiful when you’re already good-looking? And good at dancing? And singing?

The mentor looked at the staff standing on the opposite side of the room. “Ah. That will definitely go in the final cut.” One of them grinned and did an ‘ok’ sign with his hand, and the mentor sighed amusedly. “What’s done is done. Okay, back to where we were earlier. How was your experience so far, Kenjirou?”

“It’s been great! I feel like I’m behind everyone else—and Yuuri is really amazing, by the way!—but it’s just like what JJ said. I’m here to improve myself, and I’m so glad for the mentors and for my co-trainees who are there to help me,” Kenjirou said.

Yuuri was, to simply put it, dying. Aside from Kenjirou's praise, Mentor Viktor was also looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

And just like what he had been dreading since they had all taken their places, the mentor lifted his microphone, and with a smile that Yuuri had associated with painful things, he said, “You have been very busy, Yuuri Katsuki.”

The way Mentor Viktor pronounced Yuuri’s name, the way it rolled off his tongue… _this was really unfair._

“Ah, yes,” Yuuri managed to say. “This is just the first step in the long road we will be taking, and I think while everyone has their own goals, just like what JJ and Kenjirou said, we are here to improve. I want to be able to help everyone do that as long as I can.”

“Teamwork and camaraderie are really important,” Mentor Viktor replied. “I may not be in a group, but I have worked with a lot of different people, different dancers.” He nodded to Georgi. “Helping others is also helpful for yourself. Good job.”

Yuuri stood up and bowed. “Thank you very much.”

Mentor Viktor smiled. “Then, let’s get to the evaluation now, shall we?”

Yuuri sat down and shifted in his seat. The atmosphere that had began to lighten became heavy again.

“Let’s start with those who got the grade… F.”

Yuuri’s eyes widened and he looked around him. Everyone else looked uncomfortable, and Michele especially looked pale. Yuuri touched his thigh, hoping to provide comfort. “Don’t worry, you did great,” he said.

Michele shook his head and thinned his lips. “What was great in that?”

But before Yuuri could reply, the mentor cleared his throat and grinned. “None.”

“Eh?!”

Phichit groaned loudly and muttered something about sadistic mentors. Mentor Viktor was unfazed by the whining trainees and merely continued. “Trainees who got the grade D…”

Yuuri inhaled.

“Michele Crispino.”

Yuuri exhaled the same time Michele let out a huge sigh of relief and slumped forward. The trainees clapped and Michele stood up and bowed at them, saying a soft thank you before he went to Mentor Viktor. The idol shook his hand and said his congratulations before giving him the letter D sticker. Michele stuck it to his name tag and was walking towards them again when the staff guided him to the center stage, telling him to wait until Mentor Viktor tells them to go back to their seats.

“And the next trainee… Leo de la Iglesia.”

Yuuri clapped as he watch the sunny man get his grade and walk to the center stage with a grin, putting the same letter sticker on his name tag.

“And the next trainee… none.” Mentor Viktor smiled at them. “Congratulations on getting grade D! Do you guys want to say anything?”

Leo and Michele looked at each other at the same time and laughed. Leo gestured for Michele to start and he nodded.

“Oh, um, I just can’t believe I even got this grade at all.” Michele grinned. “I’ll work slowly but surely and aim for the top!”

“For me, I guess I just wanna experience it all to the fullest? I can get D on every evaluation, but I won’t let it bring me down. I’m here to have fun, to learn, and to enjoy my youth, as long as viewers... “ Leo frowned. “We call our lovely audience something, right?”

“Yes, yes. They’re the supercontinent producers,” Mentor Viktor cheerfully supplied. Well, that was a weird name. It was probably because the viewers from everywhere in Hasetsu will be “producing” the new YNY idols, but it just sounded like the audience will be producing supercontinents to Yuuri.

“Right! As long as the supercontinent producers think I’m deserving of a spot here, then I will maximize this opportunity,” Leo said, not even a bit bothered by the name.

Yuuri silently agreed with the person from behind him who murmured that Leo was brave and amazing. It sounded like Georgi. If he wasn’t mistaken, he was also the same one who let out a barely-concealed laugh when Leo mentioned about getting D on… _oh._ That was why. Yuuri chuckled and immediately switched it to a cough. Phichit looked at him with a raised brow and Yuuri waved his hand dismissively. _Later_ , he mouthed.

Mentor Viktor nodded. “Thank you very much, you two. You can go back to your seats.”

When Michele and Leo were seated, Mentor Viktor took a long while before he spoke again. “I was thinking of what Michele and Leo said. It’s undeniable that the two of them are currently the last in our rankings, but it’s true that in the end, the supercontinent producers will decide who will stay and who will leave. Just because you think you’re lacking, doesn’t mean it’s already over. You only have to work harder. The supercontinent producers will see your efforts and it will be rewarding.”

Yuuri exhaled a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. He reeled all his amazement in, but Phichit didn’t have any inhibition and simply let out a wild “wow!” that broke the trance the rest were all in.

The mentor simply chuckled. “Sorry, I may have gotten carried away. Let’s continue. The trainees who got the grade… C.”

“Guang Hong Ji.”

“Yeah!” Leo said, patting Guang Hong on the shoulder before forcing him to stand.

“Seung Gil Lee.”

Seung Gil silently stood up and bowed at them.

“Emil Nekola.”

Emil stood up fast and raised a fist. “Oh yeah!” he shouted.

“And lastly… Kenjirou Minami.”

One moment, Yuuri had an empty space in front of him, and the next moment, he was staring at Kenjirou’s back. He didn’t know what happened, but from the mixture of shock, horrification, and amazement on everyone’s faces (staff included) after a quick look around, he knew it must not be… normal.

Kenjirou had a spring in his walk when he approached Mentor Viktor, who still looked at their youngest trainee as if he was an alien and asked, “Did you just really performed an aerial?”

“Yeah! I can do a buncha other stuff. I do acrobatics!” Kenjirou replied.

“O...kay.” Mentor Viktor blinked. “Uh, please join the others and say your messages, if you have any.”

Their messages were all short and basically composed of the same thing: they’ll do their best to improve. At that point, Yuuri was glad he didn’t hear his name. He was unsure whether he deserved a higher grade, but he didn’t really want to drop a letter in his grade evaluation. Having B again would be nice.

Phichit would probably say something ridiculous to him again if he could hear his thoughts. Yuuri looked at him and found him looking back at him with wide eyes. Yuuri wondered what could _Phichit_ be thinking when it hit him—Phichit’s name wasn’t called yet, either.

“And next, the trainees who got the grade B…”

Yuuri gulped, worried and yet excited not only for himself, but also for his best friend. He licked his lips in anticipation.

“Actually,” the mentor started, putting his prompter down. He leaned on the podium and rested his chin on intertwined fingers. “Can the four trainees who haven’t been called yet go to the stage? I will announce the grades together.”

Yuuri stood up and turned around, bowing to the others who started clapping and giving them encouragements. He grinned at Phichit before hugging him briefly and together, they walked onto the stage. Georgi smiled at him before he stood next to him. JJ placed himself on the opposite end of Phichit.

Mentor Viktor looked at them and nodded twice, the soft humming caught by the microphone. “You guys positioned yourselves well.”

Okay, so, closest to Mentor Viktor was JJ and Georgi. They must be the A’s. And then, him and Phichit have B.

“Those in the middle…”

Eh? Yuuri looked at Georgi, who pointed to himself and asked, “Is that us?”

“Uh.” JJ and Phichit were on the sides. “I think so,” Yuuri hesitantly answered.

When Yuuri looked back at Mentor Viktor, hoping to be enlightened, the mentor was already opening his mouth.

“...congratulations for achieving History Makers’ first grade A’s!”

Yuuri gaped. He looked at Georgi, who was mirroring the shock that was likely on his own face. Yuuri felt arms snaking around his torso and suddenly he was off the floor, laughing as Phichit continued to lift him. He only let him down when Mentor Viktor went to them onstage, giving them their respective stickers before standing on the side next to Phichit.

“Congratulations on getting B, Jean-Jacques Leroy and Phichit Chulanont.” The two of them bowed, Phichit doing it more eagerly than JJ.

“And for getting the elusive A, good job, Yuuri Katsuki and Georgi Popovich.”

Yuuri bowed. “Thank you so much, mentor.” When he stood up, Mentor Viktor had a weird expression on his face before it returned to his usual cool as he told them to say their messages. _Huh?_

Their messages were, again, the usual: Thank you, they couldn’t believe it, they’ll work infinitely harder to be worthy of the grade, especially him and Georgi. The supercontinent producers might be bored already, or maybe the messages won’t even make it to the episode, but what could they do? It might be repetitive, but it’s the truth.

The four of them bowed, and Yuuri had just taken two steps forward when Mentor Viktor turned to them. “Yuuri and Georgi, please stay on-stage.”

 _Oh no._ What was it this time?

The idol walked to the middle and instructed the two of them to move further apart. When he was satisfied with their position, he addressed the trainees who were back in their seats. “The next step is to shoot your MV. Now, my dear trainees, it’s time for you to choose—who do you want to be your first center?”

Yuuri was internally screaming. The center is literally that: the person who will be mostly at the center in everything, from the choreography to even the line distribution. It was the position of most exposure, which was good for a show like History Makers where their fates would be based on the audience’s votes, but it was also the position with the most pressure. You have to be good because you will be representing the group—you _must_ be good because you were picked from the rest.

He didn’t really want it, no thanks. But it would feel like an insult to the others, wouldn’t it? Maybe someone wanted the center position, but they couldn’t even try for it just because they weren’t graded high enough for a mission that only lasted for a total of three days.

“To our A’s, please do a freestyle performance using the show’s theme song until the first chorus,” Mentor Viktor said. “You were very promising ever since the first grade evaluations. I’m actually anticipating great things from you two. Good luck!” He smiled and winked at them before sitting on the now vacant seat beside Phichit.

Yuuri didn’t know whether to feel energized or weak because of the goddamn wink, but the first rising beats of the theme song played on the speaker and Yuuri cleared his mind and focused on one thing: just don’t disappoint his idol, center position be damned.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Georgi scratching the back of his neck before looking at him in confusion. Yuuri returned the look with a shrug. Georgi sighed in defeat before he slowly swayed his body, getting into the mood.

It was time for Yuuri to start moving, too. He clasped his hands together and slowly raised them above, keeping his eyes trained on them. When he heard the beat he was waiting for, he opened his arms wide and grinned. He knew what to do.

Yuuri danced and when his moves were hitting the beats correctly, he knew that he wasn’t doing too bad. The choreography turned out to fit History Makers better than he expected.

It was just a few seconds, but he would like it to be the few seconds that Mentor Viktor would take note of the most. _Take a step sharper. Make his arms tighter. Roll his head sexier. Feel the song better._

And then, it was over.

When Yuuri had gathered the courage to look at the seats, he saw Mentor Viktor sitting cross-legged, a finger on his lips as he looked at Yuuri like he was solving a difficult puzzle. Maybe using the mentor's own choreography right in front of him was a bad idea, but it was what easily came to his mind and body after barely given any time to even _think_ about what to do for the performance. After all, just how many times had he watched Mentor Viktor perform The Lilac Fairy? It was one of his favorites.

Now that he had time to mull over his decision, Yuuri realized that it _was_ a bad idea. No wonder Mentor Viktor looked so disturbed.

Yuuri glanced at Georgi, who was coming up from a backbend. Huh. Just what did Georgi do?

Mentor Viktor stood up and walked back to the stage, urging them to come closer to the middle. He patted each of their shoulders, and without bringing up his mic, he told them that they did a great job. Yuuri wasn’t sure of that, but he thanked him nonetheless.

Mentor Viktor brought his microphone to his lips and faced the others. “Now that you’ve watched that performance, who is your center? Please choose and raise the stick of the corresponding person you are voting for. I’m giving you, hmm. Ten seconds.”

Yuuri was surprised to see the short sticks with his and Georgi’s cut-out faces on one end. Since when did the other trainees receive those? When was that picture even taken? Couldn’t they have chosen a better one? That picture was so unflattering.

“Four… three…”

Ah, already? Yuuri brought his hands up to his face. Center position be damned, sure, but it was still nerve-wracking!

“One! Choose your center!”

Yuuri peeked through his fingers. They raised their sticks in chorus, and he roamed his eyes, looking at the amount of his face he could see on the seats. Five, huh? Not a bad number, if Yuuri did say so himself.

Wait, weren’t there eight trainees? Ten trainees minus two is eight, right? Then that means…

“Michele, Phichit, Guang Hong, Leo, and… ah, there, Kenjirou at the back voted for Yuuri. Jean-Jacques, Emil, and Seung Gil voted for Georgi. The votes are 5-3, which means…”

Yuuri completely covered his face again, the happiness and delight threatening to burst out. _He did it. He actually did it._

Someone stood in front of him and when Yuuri looked up from his hand, Mentor Viktor’s stunning eyes greeted him. Yuuri took a step back as his idol quietly asked, “You’re not crying, right?”

Yuuri shook his head, unable to trust his voice. Mentor Viktor breathed out a soft ‘good’ before he turned around and faced the camera.

“Congratulations to History Makers’ first center, Yuuri Katsuki!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the start of juggling 128379183 characters at once. Anyway, TL;DR:
> 
> Seat #. Trainee: Self-Grade, First Grade Evaluation, Re-Grade Evaluation  
> 1\. JJ: A, C, B  
> 2\. Seung Gil: B, B, C  
> 3\. Georgi: C, B, A  
> 4\. Yuuri: D, B, A (Theme Song Center)  
> 5\. Phichit: C, C, B  
> 6\. Emil: C, D, C  
> 7\. Guang Hong: D, C, C  
> 8\. Leo: D, D, D  
> 9\. Michele: C, F, D  
> 10\. Kenjirou: F, D, C
> 
> I'm too invested in this. Anyway, I keep forgetting I have it, but here's my [Twitter](http://twitter.com/bearixt_)! Thank you for reading, supercontinent producers! ~~what am i doing with that name sjahkjsd~~


	3. Group Performance Battle (V)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me in chapter 1: i'll try to finish this fic before july!  
> me in chapter 2: i'll try to finish this fic before this year ends!  
> me now: i'll try to finish this fic!
> 
> To the best [Cookie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleDancer8) in the world, thank you for the beta and the quick music facts! I'm honestly starting to wonder what the hell am I doing, writing a fic with dance and music (which I can't write to save my life despite being my two favorite things in the world), but I'm glad I have youuuuu. <3 <3

Yuuri was a very interesting trainee.

The first time Viktor saw him in person, he briefly wondered where the charismatic young man in the audition video had gone. With his cute, chubby cheeks and wide brown eyes, Yuuri was just another trainee. He didn't exude a strong aura like Jean-Jacques and Georgi effortlessly did, nor did he have the innocence and naivety that Kenjirou had. Yuuri was just… that. Ordinary. Cute, too, yes, very soft-looking with a wonderful personality, but as a trainee? _Ordinary_.

However, when Viktor watched his performance video for the re-grade evaluations, it was easy to see that wasn't the case. Yuuri's wide eyes turned slightly glazed, focused and intense. His movements were fluid and his voice was stable. Viktor could see undeniable potential. Yuuri was truly deserving of an A.

Viktor couldn't deny it to himself that he was quite biased; there was something about Yuuri that drew him in. When the trainee did the choreography of _The Lilac Fairy_ during the battle for the theme song’s center, Viktor's bias only grew larger. It was obviously carefully learned—the small details like the twirling fingers at the chorus or the pointed toes after the spin were there—but at the same time, it was executed with a different grace. It _felt_ like a different choreography altogether.

Yuuri, with his quick and brilliant thinking, made it look like it was a dance uniquely made for the theme song. It was amazing to behold.

He had mentioned to the trainees before how their stay in the show was all based on the votings. On one hand, Viktor was grateful that he didn't have a say in it because he wouldn't want to appear biased, even though he knew that he was.

But on the other hand, it was frustrating to feel helpless.

Viktor knew how unfair the industry could be, and he was witnessing it happen with his own two eyes. The first episode was aired and Yuuri was barely shown in it. Most of the shots the editing staff included were focused on Jean-Jacques or Seung Gil, the undoubtedly more popular trainees coming into the competition, and Kenjirou, which was probably because they were aiming for an underdog story or something. And _Viktor himself_ , which was just ridiculous because he was a _mentor_.

They didn’t even include Lilia questioning whether Yuuri had learned ballet, even though it was probably the most Lilia had spoken during the evaluations. How were the supercontinent producers supposed to fall in love with Yuuri’s adorably confused expression when it wasn’t even shown?

Viktor pursed his lips as he watched the trainees walk on the newly set-up stages in another gigantic room of Ice Castle. Their wows of amazement (as four triangular stages moved to form one big diamond in the middle) were precious, and it made him remember his own first performance on a moving stage when he was sixteen.

At first, Yuuri was embarrassed to stand in the middle, where a small portion was lifted to make him stand higher than the rest during the final part. But after some goading from the other trainees, he seemed to accept it, albeit reluctantly, and proceeded to dance as gracefully as he always did.

While Seung Gil and Yuuri definitely stood out when it came to dance, Jean-Jacques was on a level of his own when it came to singing. It was Viktor's first time to hear the recording of the theme song, and overall he was pleasantly surprised by the trainees’ vocals. Despite not being center, Jean-Jacques was hard not to notice when he was the one singing the higher notes. Viktor guessed that the model really did have an interest in performing; the amount of time he spent in the training rooms just to practice the theme song did not imply otherwise.

The MV shoot only took them half a day. Viktor watched quietly as it rained golden confetti, and the small pieces of paper falling around the trainees really made them look divine. Yuuri, with his hand in front of his chest and a soft smile held on the last beat of the music, looked like an angel.

Viktor quickly turned around and said his goodbyes to the staff before he went out. It wasn't because he was afraid of his face appearing to be flushed or anything! He just really needed to go and talk to those in-charge about there being equal amounts of screen time for the trainees. And to get the information about the second mission.

Yes, those were definitely the only reasons.

 

* * *

 

Viktor smiled at the trainees who cheerfully greeted him. This time, they were in another room with a stage that was smaller than the first one, but it was brighter and still had the tiered platforms. The trainees were all standing; five of them on the first level and the other five on the next one with Yuuri placed front and center.

The room didn’t give off the same intimidating vibe that the first and even the second one had, but perhaps that was on purpose. Or maybe it wasn’t, and YNY just wanted to show off the many rooms in Ice Castle. Even Viktor didn’t get to visit and roam around all of the rooms after construction had been completed. It was gigantic, clearly being called a castle for a reason, but the number of rooms it housed was really quite ridiculous. To think that they’d use it for the first time for only _ten_ trainees…

He stood on the podium on the other side of the room, fixing his leather jacket and looking at his prompter, familiarizing himself with the flow of that day’s agenda.

“Good morning, trainees. Congratulations on filming your first MV. Was it fun?”

They replied ‘yes’ in chorus. “Yuuri erased my existence when that stage lifted at the end,” Phichit joked.

Yuuri’s panic was immediately apparent, and he only relaxed after the others convinced him that it was okay.

“Ah, your stages were moving, yes? A diamond with an elevated center. It was quite interesting to watch,” Viktor said.

“Eh? You were there yesterday, Mentor Viktor?” Emil asked, uncrossing his arms.

“Yes, I passed by to check up and give advice, but it was unnecessary. You all did very well,” Viktor said. The trainees grinned and claimed that _“Mentor Viktor was only making them feel better about themselves,”_ but Viktor insisted it was the truth.

“When can we see the final product?” Georgi asked.

The editors were fast workers, but since the shoot had only been yesterday, it may not be available at least until the next day. Of course, the higher-ups have to check it first too and see if it’s up to their standards.

“Maybe by Friday?” Viktor replied. “It really all depends, but it should still be within the week.” Viktor lowered his microphone when he remembered something. He turned to the cameraman near him. “Wait, will they be allowed to watch it before the second episode comes out?”

The young man (Viktor thought his name was Yuuto) moved his face away from the viewfinder and looked thoughtful for a moment. He glanced at the other staff before giving Viktor a shrug. “I think they can see it when it’s done, but their reactions would be recorded for the third episode. It will depend on the director’s decision.”

Viktor nodded. “I guess I can go and ask Josef later. Thank you.” He brought up his microphone and said, “You heard that, right?”

They nodded, and Viktor raised a brow at Kenjirou, who obviously had something to say. “Yes, Kenjirou?”

The trainee squeaked before he stammered, “The first episode’s already out?”

“Yep!”

There was a brief moment of silence as Viktor waited for the cameraman (ah, yes, it was Yuuto) to adjust his grip and for the trainees to pick up their mouths from the floor.

Okay, looks like they’re all good now. “You have all overcome the first mission, and now, it’s time for your second one! This time, we will be having group performances!”

There were sharp intakes of breath from some of the trainees, and Viktor internally chuckled before he continued, “As you all know, I am a solo artist, but in the industry, groups are more common. This is because having other people who can complement your skills, those who can make up for what you are lacking, is an important thing. Not everyone can be good at everything. I wish I could’ve been in a group, too…”

Viktor cleared his throat. “Anyway. In a group, there are three common positions: vocal, dance, and rap. A good group has at least one representative for each of those, as well as a reliable leader and a fitting center. Keep this in mind as you create your group,” Viktor said, looking at everyone as he spoke, finally landing his eyes on Georgi and then on Yuuri.

“For your second mission, you have to divide yourselves into two groups, and each will be performing the same song. Our two A’s will be on different teams, and they will be picking their members alternately. Since Yuuri Katsuki was our first center, he has the advantage of being the first one to choose the member he wants. He also holds the power to choose the song.”

Yuuri gaped while Phichit and Kenjirou started screaming at him from his left side. Jean-Jacques on the second platform silently clapped and watched it happen in front of him.

“Now, let’s listen to the three tracks prepared by our staff.”

Viktor turned around as the big LED screen behind him came to life. Three big circles resembling vinyl records appeared with song titles in the middle: _Anastasis_ , _Partizan Hope_ , and _Still Alive_.

The trainees became wild once again, and they were really loud even though there were just ten of them, weren’t they? But _Partizan Hope_ brought back so many memories. He hadn’t performed it ever since he had cut his hair short. How many years had it been now?

The first circle rotated, and the funky, techno-style bridge of _Anastasis_ played loudly. Viktor glanced at the trainees and saw Phichit and Emil doing funny body waves. After five seconds, the music stopped, and the trainees groaned collectively.

“That was it? Too short!” Kenjirou complained. Viktor laughed at him and stopped when the second circle moved. He couldn’t help the sigh that escaped him. The dramatic piano accompanied by the heavy beats of the drums filled the room and he automatically closed his eyes, body moving of its own accord as it remembered the movements he had drilled into his body for countless nights.

Five seconds had never felt longer. When he opened his eyes, he realized that it was too quiet. He glanced again at the trainees… who were staring at him with wide eyes.

Viktor chuckled sheepishly and fixed his jacket. “Sorry about that. Let’s go to the last one,” he said before he quickly turned around, hoping that the staff would take that as their cue to play the third song immediately to fill the silence.

Luckily, his prayers were answered. This time, a more hip-hop song played, seemingly the middle of a rap verse. Viktor saw Phichit and Georgi nod their heads to the beat, and when the song ended, their eyes were bright with excitement.

“Which one would you guys like to perform?” Viktor asked.

The trainees shouted different numbers, but Viktor noticed that Yuuri didn’t answer. His brows were furrowed in concentration, fingers under his chin as he looked at the screen intently.

“It looks like Yuuri is already thinking hard about the song. You have quite a big responsibility here,” Viktor said. When Yuuri’s eyes lost their focus and landed on him, Viktor added, “I’d like to hear your thoughts.”

Yuuri shuffled his feet, looking at the other trainees before he answered. “I think all three songs are good, but I’m leaning more towards the second song because… uh…” Yuuri turned bright red and Viktor’s eyebrows raised at that. “I know the choreography to that one, so it will be easier for me.” Yuuri bit his lip, and then his face was back to normal.

Viktor nodded and opened his mouth to reply with his absolutely positive response when Yuuri spoke again. “But…”

“But?” Viktor prompted.

Yuuri looked at Georgi to his right. “I think Georgi knows it, too. And he will definitely perform it better than I do. It might not be good for my group when that happens.”

Huh. That competitiveness was… new.

“And the other songs?” Viktor asked.

“I’m not familiar with them, and they both seem fun to perform? But since I have the advantage of choosing a member of my group first and I have faith in someone’s skills,” he trailed off, looking at Phichit with a grin before he looked back at Viktor, smile still on his face. “I think I have already decided.”

“Then please stand in front of the song you have chosen.”

Yuuri turned around and the trainees talked amongst themselves. Viktor couldn’t decipher it from his place, but judging from the smiles that _everyone_ had, he assumed it was all good fun.

And just like Viktor had anticipated, Yuuri stood under the circle for _Still Alive_. Viktor was quite disappointed, but, _okay,_ back to work. The screen changed; a white line in the middle divided the now-peach background vertically. The words RED and BLUE, written in their respective colors, appeared on the two sides. Above Yuuri’s head was BLUE.

“Georgi, please stand on the other side,” Viktor instructed. Georgi bowed at him, and then at the trainees, before doing so. Two staff members ran and gave them microphones.

“Yuuri, you may now choose your first member.”

Yuuri grinned. “Phichit Chulanont,” he said without any hesitation.

Phichit whooped and jumped a bit before running towards Yuuri, laughing together as they linked their arms.

“And now, who is the second member of Red Team, Georgi?”

Georgi’s eyes scanned the trainees. Viktor watched amusedly as Kenjirou looked to the side, obviously avoiding meeting his eyes. It was really no secret anymore that Kenjirou admired Yuuri, so he must’ve wanted to be on the same team as him.

Which made Viktor let out a surprised laugh when Georgi pointed at the youngest member. “Kenjirou Minami.”

Kenjirou’s head snapped back to face the front and his jaw fell. “What? Why me?!”

The other trainees laughed and Leo behind him patted him on the back. Georgi just grinned in reply. Kenjirou pouted but walked to him nonetheless. “Please take care of me!”

Yuuri looked disappointed; there was also a hint of a pout on his face as he watched Kenjirou bow to Georgi. Yuuri looked away and their eyes met. Viktor nodded, signalling them to choose their next pick. Yuuri and Phichit talked lowly, looking over at the then nervous-looking trainees once in a while. Phichit crossed his arms and did a ‘go ahead’ gesture.

Yuuri raised the microphone slowly. “Jean-Jacques Leroy."

The trainees looked shocked, but no one was as shocked as Jean-Jacques himself. He quietly walked down and towards Yuuri, who immediately bowed and smiled at him when he arrived.

Georgi and Kenjirou talked quietly but animatedly before Georgi said, “Guang Hong Ji.” The older man rolled his eyes fondly as Kenjirou and Guang Hong high fived each other, grabbed each other’s hands, and jumped like kids.

Well, they were literally kids in Viktor’s eyes. They were the youngest trainees, both seventeen, weren’t they? Viktor was getting old. But then again, so was Georgi. Ah, perhaps that was rude of him.

“Seung Gil Lee.”

Viktor raised a brow. That was fast.

“Emil Nekola.”

His brow raised even higher. Both groups probably had created small strategies of their own, already huddled and talking in hushed voices. The groupings were really interesting.

“Okay! It’s time to pick the final member of Blue Team. Yuuri, who is your group’s pick?”

This time, it seemed like the three members left the decision to Yuuri as they all quietly stood behind him. Yuuri looked at the remaining trainees, Michele and Leo. He bit his lip before he nodded to himself. “Michele Crispino.”

The trainee’s eyes widened before he ran and enveloped Yuuri in a tight hug. Viktor’s eyes narrowed. Sara’s brother did that quite a lot, didn’t he?

Viktor turned his attention to Leo, who was still on the platform. “You may go to your team now,” Viktor said.

Leo bowed at him before he went to Red Team. He greeted them, bumping shoulders with Guang Hong as he talked.

“The procedure of how the winning group will be selected and the reward for winning will be announced on the event day itself.” Viktor checked his watch. He should leave now so he could still arrive on time for his commercial shoot.

“I need to go,” he mouthed to one of the head staff. Min-So gave him two thumbs up.

“You should now decide who is your group’s leader and center. Remember what I’ve said before: pick a reliable leader and a fitting center. Trainings and rehearsals with the other mentors will be scheduled. Meanwhile, I will be dropping by here and there whenever you guys are free to lend a hand. Good luck!”

The trainees bowed at him as he passed by them on his way to the door. Huh. So both teams have a friendship pair, and of course, a trainee in grade A.

The group performances will be really, really interesting to watch.

 

* * *

 

Viktor’s schedule turned out to be busier than he expected. He did not have a new album planned; he wanted a break after his concert first, after all. But sponsors didn’t wait for anyone, and he needed to do his job.

Not that he needed the money or the exposure. If anything, it was all just for the sense of normalcy.

When he finally finished all his photo and video shoots, a full week had already passed since the two groups were made and there were only 2 days left until the Group Performance Battle. He went to the “Spy Room,” which was a room full of television screens from top to bottom, left to right, hung on the wall where you can see the videos from the CCTV and other cameras in real time.

It was already late, and both teams were still in the practice rooms. Viktor furrowed his brows. They were not always staying up this late, were they?

“Quite the dedicated bunch. Talented, too,” Viktor heard Chris say. He turned around and saw the rest of the mentors minus Lilia enter the room. Mila greeted him before they all sat on the couches on the other side of the room. She patted the vacant space beside her.

“Where’s Lilia?” Viktor asked as he sat down.

“That’s what we’re about to discuss now, actually. Yakov told me that Lilia has to leave the show since she needs to supervise Cao Bin’s group. They’re gonna have a comeback in four months,” Mila said.

“Eh? But who’s going to be in-charge of helping the trainees with form and balance?” Viktor turned to Chris. “You know I know you’re a hell of a dancer, but when it comes to that, someone with ballet experience is the best.”

Chris sighed and leaned back on the couch. “I know,” he said. “We should invite someone to replace her.”

Yuri growled and crossed his arms. He was sat cross-legged on the only solo couch at Viktor’s right. “At least she was _actually_ doing her job before she left. Someone here hasn’t done anything at all to be called a _mentor_. You should just be the show host or something since that’s basically what you are right now.”

“Why are you such in a bad mood, Yura?” When he only received a grunt in return, Viktor turned to Otabek. “Why is he in a bad mood?”

The quiet composer looked up from the papers he was holding. Viktor realized that he never saw him without papers.

“I think he was impressed with the rapping from both teams,” Otabek replied. “Especially of Red Team’s center, Georgi.”

So he was the chosen center. Was Yuuri the center of the other group? Viktor raised an eyebrow at Yuri, who protested, and nodded at Otabek. He turned to Mila. “Speaking of which, how were the rehearsals this week?”

Viktor pointedly ignored Yuri’s mumble of “You wouldn’t need to ask if you were actually doing your job.”

“It was quite shaky on the first day. Yuuri’s team was especially quite a mess. They couldn’t harmonize at all. Jean-Jacques’s soulful singing was great, but it didn’t match with the rest of the team.” Mila crossed her legs and draped an arm over the couch, shaking her head. “Georgi’s team has been doing well since the beginning. Everyone’s better now, but I still need to keep an eye on Emil and Kenjirou.”

She paused for a while before she grinned deviously at Viktor. “Yuuri’s voice is quite angelic though, isn’t it?”

“Nothing special,” Yuri commented.

Otabek looked at him. “You know that is not true. He was really stable during this morning’s check-ins.”

Yuri rolled his eyes and brought out his phone. O—kay, so he wasn’t denying it?

“His dance is very angelic, too,” Chris mused. “And so is his personality. During yesterday’s dance check-ins, Michele had some trouble, but Yuuri managed to catch him. Very leader-esque of him.”

Viktor blinked. “Is he Blue Team’s leader?” Not the center?

“Uh-huh.” Chris nodded at the screens in front of them. “You can see that even from here.”

Viktor watched as Yuuri talked with Jean-Jacques, hands doing different movements slowly. Jean-Jacques imitated him, and Yuuri nodded with a smile as he watched the model. Yuuri turned around and opened his mouth, saying something that Viktor couldn’t hear since there was no sound from the televisions, but he guessed he was calling for the others’ attention. They stood up from where they were resting and went to their positions. It seemed like they were only checking their blockings, with Yuuri standing in front and pointing something out every now and then.

Viktor stood up and glanced at the clock. Almost twelve o’clock. “I’ll go and talk with them a bit. What’s their schedule for tomorrow?”

“Nothing. Self-practices. The final mentor check-ins are on the other day, and the day after that should be your time to, as Yuri put it, do your job,” Mila said.

“Their technical and stage rehearsals will be on that day, too, and then the group performance after on Saturday,” Chris added. He leaned his head on the sofa and looked at the staff behind them. “Right?”

Viktor nodded at the staff's confirmation. “Got it. See you around. You all go get some rest, too.”

With the help of the staff, he located the room where Blue Team was in. Yuuri’s group stopped in the middle of their practice to stand together and bow. Viktor waved a hand at them

“Good evening,” he greeted.

“Good evening, Mentor Viktor!”

Viktor hummed. Should he talk to the groups separately or together? It was already midnight, and he didn’t know how long talking to them would take. Ah. Together, then. “I don’t really want to repeat myself, so let’s go to the other group.” He observed their sweaty faces and shaky legs. “Can you all still walk?”

Michele let out a laugh. “I think we can manage.”

Viktor walked out, the other trainees trailing behind him. He pretended not to hear Phichit’s low murmur of “ _Mentor Viktor still looks so good even though you can tell he just came from a very busy day, don’t you think so, Yuuri?”_ but he couldn’t hear Yuuri’s reply. Viktor resisted the urge to turn around.

When he entered the practice room on the other end of the hallway, he was greeted with the sight of Georgi’s team sprawled on the floor. They only noticed their arrival after the rest of Blue Team entered the room, and they immediately stood up and bowed.

“Good evening, guys,” Viktor said. “I just wanted to talk to all of you, so please sit.”

The trainees formed a half-circle in front of him and waited for Viktor to sit first before following suit. They looked so nervous and uncomfortable. Poor trainees. They probably thought Viktor would be reprimanding them.

Well, he really would, but not much. Kinda.

Viktor raised his right leg and rested his right arm across his knee. “So,” he said, “Why are you still up this late?”

They looked surprised; the question was probably not what they had expected. It was Yuuri who stood up straighter and answered him. “We were practicing for our group performance. We had things to correct after this morning’s check-in with Mentor Yuri and Mentor Otabek.”

Viktor nodded and shifted his attention to Georgi. Surprisingly, Georgi didn’t reply and only looked at Guang Hong beside him.

Obviously seeing Georgi in his peripheral vision, Guang Hong simply sighed. “We wanted to make sure our formation is tight, though um, we were actually already finished before you arrived,” he said. He looked at the other side where Blue Team sat. “We were just waiting for them to finish up so we can go back to the dorms together.”

“Eh?” Yuuri’s eyes widened before he hurriedly stood up and bowed to their general area. “I’m very sorry we took so long!”

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Emil said, placing his hands on the floor behind him and leaning back. “We were still resting anyway. We would’ve gone into your room and asked what the hell are you guys were doing if we felt that it was too late.”

Yuuri didn’t look convinced, but sat back down with a frown on his face.

Viktor turned to Emil. “And”—he looked at his wrist watch—“half past twelve in the morning is still not too late?”

Emil flushed, opened his mouth, then closed it again. The corner of Viktor’s lips lifted, but he immediately fought the urge to grin. From the way Georgi rolled his eyes though, he didn’t do it fast enough. Georgi should be aware of his habit of teasing people; Viktor might not remember everything specifically, but he was sure that he teased some of his backup dancers before. Georgi likely included.

“Considering we were up until three or four before, I guess we consider this to be early now,” Seung Gil said, voice as calm and collected as ever.

Viktor raised his other knee and brought them together. He placed his elbows at the top of his knees and placed his cheeks on closed fists. He smiled. “Do you guys want to get sick?”

Silence.

Viktor kept the smile on his face as he looked at each of the trainees, inwardly chuckling whenever they averted their gaze. Yuuri met his eyes head-on and Viktor closed his eyes, sighing amusedly. He straightened his legs in front of him and ran his fingers through his hair.

When he opened his eyes again, he tried to look relaxed as much as he could. “For starters, I’m not mad at any of you, okay?” he reassured.

They nodded, but their shoulders were still stiff. Viktor shook his head. “I can literally see you all tensed up over here. Calm down. Get yourself comfortable.” He patiently waited for the trainees as they shifted in their seats, finding the position they felt most at ease with.

Jean-Jacques and Yuuri both hugged their knees, while Phichit on Yuuri’s other side had his legs stretched in front like Viktor, two hands on either side of his hips. The others still sat cross-legged, but the tension was almost completely gone. Viktor was intrigued to see that Guang Hong and Leo’s “most-at-ease” position was sitting with their shoulders pressed together, and Kenjirou’s was with crossed arms. Viktor remembered Yuri just a few minutes ago. Was crossing arms a teenager thing?

“You are all great,” Viktor said. “We have witnessed that. Of course, there is still room for improvement. Still, that does not mean that you should sacrifice your health. Proper rest is as important as proper training,” Viktor said.

When no one spoke, he continued, “You go to sleep at 4 in the morning and wake up at, what, six? Five, if you need more time to do your morning routines, to make it in time for breakfast at... seven, right? Even going to sleep at 1, which you call early, will still only give you five hours at most, and you spend the rest of the day training.” Viktor blinked. “And I am actually keeping you guys up late now. Sorry!”

The trainees raised their hands and waved them, incredulous expression on their faces. Viktor waved his hand at them again. “I won’t be here tomorrow due to my schedule, but I was afraid that your bodies would start giving up if I waited another day before talking to you. At least tonight can hopefully be the last time, right?”

They nodded, slow and unsure. Viktor hoped that they could hear the seriousness in his voice. “You don’t need to spend your late nights training because that time is alloted for you to _rest_. You have a lot of time to practice; you have mornings, afternoons, and even the early nights. Quality over quantity, my dear trainees. Practice correctly, not just simply practice a lot.

“I know that being a trainee feels like a limited-time event, especially for you. I truly understand. Take advantage of this opportunity, but don’t overdo it, okay? Take care of your health. There can be consequences.” Viktor pursed his lips and moved a hand to his hip.

When he looked back up, the trainees were solemnly looking at him, but Viktor knew that his message got across. “And that’s it.” Viktor faked a yawn and made a show of stretching his arms upwards. “If you guys weren’t sleepy earlier, I hope you are now. I’m sorry my TED Talk was long and boring, and I can’t stop you if you still want to continue overdoing it, but I hope you heed my advice. You may not understand it now, but someday, you will.”

Viktor stood up, and the trainees hurriedly stood up as well. “Good night, dear trainees. I’ll see you in three days.”

They bowed deeply. “Thank you very much!”

Viktor may not always be around to help them with the technicalities of their talents, but he would make sure, to the best of his abilities, to take care of them. Especially if they couldn’t do it for themselves.

 

* * *

 

Viktor helped the trainees during their stage rehearsals while the other mentors find a replacement for Lilia. Since both teams were performing the same song, it was quite easy to compare the two.

Each team had its own, unique vibe. Even though the trainees did not know exactly how they would win yet, they were aware that it would still be related to audience voting. They had created their own concepts with the idea of making their group stand out.

Red, Georgi’s team, gave a more professional feeling, which was definitely quite an experience for Kenjirou. They nicely pulled off a more soulful, melodic rap with Georgi at their center, who could definitely pull them up as the oldest. Viktor was unsure at first of their decision to make Guang Hong their leader, but after supervising their practices, he saw that it had been a good idea. Guang Hong was very patient and kind, easy to approach. He was young enough that Kenjirou felt comfortable asking for help, a friend to Leo, and a performer who gave his all that even Emil and Georgi, who were older than him, acknowledged.

On the other hand, Blue Team had a more funky, youthful feel. Viktor knew that Phichit could mostly be blamed for it and had assumed that the aspiring rapper would be their center, too, to match up with the other team. When he had watched them perform their routine for the first time, he was surprised to see that they gave the position to Jean-Jacques. When he asked their leader, Yuuri, about their reason, he simply answered, _“He can sing the highest note and is very popular.”_ Yuuri made use of everyone’s good points to their advantage—truly a leader quality.

Viktor watched them as they rehearsed on stage, giving pieces of advice on different things such as finding the camera and when you should make eye-contact with it.

Then finally, it was the day of the group performance battle. Viktor was in a miraculously spacious make up room along with the trainees. He would be hosting once again. Seriously, the original plan was for the mentors to switch hosting duties every now and then, but so far, only Viktor had done it. And Yuri made it seem like his fault.

He had to practice his script a little. Meanwhile, Chris and the others were likely already in the mentor observation room where they wouldn’t really do anything aside from sit back, watch the performances, and say their comments every now and then. Unfair.

Viktor checked his outfit in the wide mirror when the hairstylist was finished placing whatever she used for his hair to look good while slicked back. Satisfied with how the two-toned pullover, denim jeans, and rubber shoes his stylist chose complimented with each other, he nodded to himself and looked around. Most of the trainees were still getting their makeup done, while the rest were fixing their belts or jumpers.

“I’ll be going ahead. See you later! Good luck!” With that, he went out the stage and welcomed the wild screaming with an easy smile.

After scanning the crowd, Viktor thought that it would not be exaggerated for him to say that 90% of the audience was there for _him_. Most of them were holding banners and lightsticks, wearing silver-colored headbands on their head, shouting his name, and calling for his attention. The fans who brought fan materials for the _trainees_ were very few and far between, and even then, they were only for the same two or three trainees.

Somehow, Viktor understood why he was hosting, but it didn’t mean that he had to feel happy about it. This show was for the trainees, the _history makers_.

Oh, well. These people were surely bound to change their minds once they saw the ten perform.

“Good afternoon, everyone! Welcome to History Makers' second mission: The Group Performance Battle! Two teams will perform the same song with the intention of capturing your hearts more than the other. This will also be their first time performing for a live audience! Are you ready to see them?”

The crowd screamed and Viktor smiled. He waited for them to settle down, and after Celestino, the stage director, signaled, he continued, “Before they perform, let me first explain how the second mission will work. This will also be the first time the trainees themselves will be hearing the rules. Listen carefully too, trainees backstage!

“You were all given voting consoles, right? Please raise it so I can see them.” When the crowd did, Viktor nodded. “As you can see, there are two sets of numbers one to five, with one set colored blue, and the other, red. Each colored number represents a trainee. After both teams perform, you will be given time to choose between the two trainees sharing the same number who you like better.

“The trainee with more votes for each number will be the winner of that faceoff, and the team comprised of more winning trainees overall will win the group performance battle. Each member of the winning team will get an additional 10,000 votes during the first ranking announcement.”

Viktor glanced at the prompter. Phew. That long explanation was over. Now… “Are you all ready, supercontinent producers?” More screaming was their response. Celestino gave him the go signal. “Please come up to the stage, trainees!”

Both teams came up and placed themselves on either side of Viktor, who was standing at the middle. Next to him was Yuuri and Guang Hong, the leaders.

“Hello, Yuuri,” Viktor beamed. “How are you feeling today?”

“Oh, um.” Yuuri looked at his teammates for help, but they all just shooed him and forced him to answer on his own. “I feel nervous but also excited. I can’t wait for the um, supercontinent producers to see the fruits of our hard work. Not just from our group, but also the other.”

Guang Hong tipped his head lightly at Yuuri, and Viktor nodded at him, urging him to speak. “Yes! We helped each other out! But of course, our team will work hard so that the supercontinent producers will choose us.”

“A healthy competition. Very admirable,” Viktor said, feeling proud of them. He thought he could hear Yuri’s _“You didn’t do anything to be that proud, old man!”_ , but Viktor was probably just imagining things. “Please introduce your group and yourselves. Let’s start with... the group that has History Makers’ first center.” Viktor brought his arm out in a ‘the stage is yours’ gesture.

Yuuri gulped before bringing the microphone to his lips with two, shaky hands. He looked at his teammates and nodded. “Hello, supercontinent producers! We are…”

“Phichit Tried To Sneak Hamsters Into The Dorms!”

Phichit was pouting, Yuuri had a hand on his face, and the remaining three had their fists under their chins. Oh my god, were they supposed to be the hamsters? Viktor choked before diving into a full laugh. Yuuri looked at him surprised, and Viktor raised a hand to cover his mouth, embarrassed at his loud laugh, but Yuuri just smiled at him.

_Ow._

“Hello again. I’m Phichit Tried To Sneak Hamsters Into The Dorms’ leader, Yuuri Katsuki! We hope you enjoy our performance!” Yuuri said and bowed. Viktor gestured for the rest to continue.

“Good afternoon.” The crowd went wild and Jean-Jacques looked surprised. He said something, but it was drowned by the screaming. After Celestino motioned for the audience to be quiet, the trainee continued, a small smile appearing on his face. “Jean-Jacques Leroy, Phichit Tried To Sneak Hamsters Into The Dorms’ center, at your service. I hope you vote for me. I will do my best to show you my JJ style!” Jean-Jacques passed his microphone to Yuuri, who looked fondly exasperated, before he brought his hands up and did the same finger style he did during their first meeting. The crowd screamed some more, causing Jean-Jacques to grin before he put his hand down and bowed lightly.

Phichit coughed dramatically before he stretched his arms in front, throwing a peace sign at the crowd. “I’m Phichit, the little shi…” He flinched when Yuuri poked his side from behind Jean-Jacques. Phichit rolled his eyes at him. “Fine, fine. I’m just Phichit! Phichit Chulanont. Yes, I’m sad that they didn’t let me and Yuuri take care of my hamsters, but I’m in-charge of the group’s rap. Please look forward to it!”

“Hello. I’m Michele Crispino. Phichit Tried To Sneak Hamsters Into The Dorms’ vocalist,” Michele said before quickly passing the microphone to Seung Gil. The last team member of Blue team sighed, and just like with Jean-Jacques, there was more screaming from the crowd, though not as deafening. But wow, _how could these kids say their group name with a straight face?_

The trainee tilted his head slightly. “Seung Gil Lee. Dance.” _Ah, never mind._

“O…kay, and that’s Phichit Tried To Sneak Hamsters Into The Dorms!” Viktor said, snickering. “Now, let’s go to Red Team. Please introduce your group.”

Georgi nodded, and with confidence that came from years of experience, he walked forward. “Hello, supercontinent producers! We are…”

“The Inferno,” they said in unison, standing straight and looking at the audience with fierce eyes.

Wow, so… cool.

“Hello, supercontinent producers. I’m The Inferno's leader, Guang Hong Ji. We truly hope that you will enjoy our performance. We are under your care!” He smiled, breaking the serious aura of the group, and Viktor could pinpoint the exact moment the audience fell for his charms.

“Good day. I am the center and rapper of The Inferno. Thank you for coming and giving us a chance to perform in front of you. We hope we’ll be satisfactory,” Georgi promptly said.

Leo beside him snickered and elbowed him before grabbing the microphone from him. “We will be more than satisfactory. We practiced like hell,” he joked. Facing the audience, he grinned. “Hey, supercontinent producers! Leo de la Iglesia here! We hope you have fun watching us!”

After grabbing the microphone, Emil smiled at the audience before tilting his head to the side, purposely showing off the collar he has on his neck. When he got the attention he wanted, he smirked. “Hello,” Emil said with a purr. “I’m Emil Nekola. This time, I’m a main vocalist. It’s a _pleasure_ to perform in front of you all.” _Oho?_ Did he get lessons from Chris?

Then, even with his eyes closed, Viktor could guess who was next to introduce himself because of the coo’s from the audience… and the slightly shaking stage.

He turned his head, and there Kenjirou was, jumping up and down; his giddy look somehow not looking out of place despite the formal white collared shirt he wore.

“How are you, everyone? I hope you’re having a good time! If you’re not, then I hope you will when you see our performance!” Kenjirou said before he bowed.

There was a short moment of silence before Viktor turned his head and opened his mouth, about to tell Kenjirou that he didn’t really introduce himself, but Guang Hong beat him to it. The Inferno's leader faced Kenjirou and moved his hands wildly, and while his back was facing Viktor, Viktor knew that Guang Hong must have a funny expression on his face as he heard him loudly whisper for their youngest to say his name.

Kenjirou’s face turned beet red as he yelped. “Oops! Kenjirou Minami, dance!” He hid behind Emil, causing everyone to laugh, Viktor included.

“Okay, now that introductions are out of the way, let’s not make the audience wait any longer. Phichit Tried To Sneak Hamsters Into The Dorms, please go to the watching area." Viktor paused. Fortunately, they'll probably think that it was for dramatics and not because he still couldn't move on from the ridiculous team name.

"Second Mission: Group Performance Battle, start! The stage is yours, The Inferno!”

Viktor went backstage with the other team. He was supposed to go to a separate room where he would watch the performances on a TV by himself and get filmed on his own, but at the last moment, he decided to go with the trainees' waiting room. There were more chairs than needed for just five people there anyway.

Yuuri, Phichit, and Seung Gil sat in front, while Jean-Jacques and Michele sat in the second row. Viktor sat next to Yuuri. Sitting in front would make going back to the stage easier, and he’d rather not sit too far away from them since he didn't want to appear unsociable. A logical course of action.

Though maybe he should’ve sat at least one chair away. He could smell the faint scent of Yuuri’s cologne and the trainee looked stiff, as if he couldn’t move freely. But what if sitting one chair away made it look like Viktor didn’t want to sit next to him or something? Ugh, people are hard.

Viktor focused all his attention on the big television in front of them instead, keeping an eye on the performance. At least _this_ , critically watching, he knew how to do.

But not even thirty seconds had passed by and Viktor was already distracted. Yuuri became visibly more comfortable, chatting freely with Phichit as they give words of praise every now and then. It was especially endearing whenever Kenjirou got his screen time, with Yuuri acting like a proud parent.

“Kenjirou’s dance has really improved a lot,” Seung Gil commented.

Yuuri nodded enthusiastically, leaning forward to get a closer look at the television screen. Was his vision bad? Viktor thought he saw him wearing glasses once. “It really has. It’s even more impressive to see his expressions. He matched their more serious vibe very well," Yuuri said.

“You have been very hands-on in helping him. That was bound to happen,” Phichit said. Jokingly, he added, “Are you sabotaging your own group on purpose?”

“What? Of course not! I just really wanted to help—”

“I was kidding, calm down,” Phichit said. “Oh, wait, shh! Here comes the rap...”

Viktor returned his full attention back to the performance. Georgi strutted across the stage, still so prim as he spit out his lines. The lyrics were changed, probably by Georgi himself, and it gave his performance more emotion. Georgi’s strong point had always been his ability to put his entire self out on the stage, Viktor remembered that, and it was more prominent now that he was rapping.

A short rap verse was surprisingly given to Leo, and while it was not as good as Georgi’s, it was not bad for someone with a lead vocal position. The difference between the years of experience could be easily seen.

As the song neared its end, Emil belted out the high note with the rest of them behind him, dancing in a V formation. Emil smirked directly at the camera—and the trainees in the waiting room groaned—before he suddenly crouched down.

Kenjirou moved to the center from his position at the side and did an aerial over Emil, landing on a knee in time with the final beat.

Viktor gasped. They did _not_ do that during any of their practices, even during the dress and technical rehearsals. _Wait, was that an Iron Man pose?_

Yuuri was standing, left hand clutching Phichit’s arm tightly and eyes glued at the screen as the camera did one by one close-ups of The Inferno's exhausted but satisfied faces.

“So that was what they meant when they said we better have an explosive ending,” Michele mused.

Jean-Jacques looked at their still-standing leader. “You better do some flips of your own, leader. Will you really let your apprentice outdo you?"

Yuuri turned around and replied something, but Viktor didn’t catch it as he was already hurriedly walking back to the stage.

He almost forgot that he was hosting.

“That was amazing, The Inferno!” Viktor said as he stepped on the stage and walked to the front. “I didn’t expect that last part, and neither did the other group, apparently. So you guys kept it a secret?”

“We had the idea just the other day and consulted with Mentor Chris. We wanted it to be a surprise to everyone,” Guang Hong, still breathing heavily, answered. He grinned and patted Kenjirou’s head. “We only tried to do it twice in the practice rooms, but we had faith in our Kenjirou.”

“But of course, we told him that he could skip doing it if he felt too nervous or unable to do it,” Georgi said.

Kenjirou beamed, and Viktor let out a smile as well. “That's amazing, guys. Now, please invite the supercontinent producers to vote for you."

They looked at each other before giving the microphone to Kenjirou. He blushed and faced the audience with a wide grin. “I am really thankful for my teammates who have helped me out a lot! I hope you had fun! Please vote for us! Thank you so much!”

“Thank you, The Inferno. You may now go to the waiting area.”

The trainees bowed at the crowd and then to Viktor. Viktor nodded at them and told them one by one that they did a good job. When they were already off the stage, Viktor faced the front to find that red dot that signified which camera should he look at. Ah, there.

He raised his microphone. “Now, it’s time to call the other team. Please come out, Phichit Tried To Sneak Hamsters Into The Dorms.”

Viktor passed by the Phichit group as he was walking off the stage, and he quickly bid them good luck.

Even when he was already at the trainees' waiting room, the wild screams of the crowd outside could still be heard.

“Having JJ and Seung Gil in the same group is really so, so unfair,” Viktor heard Leo jokingly say. When the trainees saw him, they all stood up to bow—and these trainees were really so cute with all their bowing, but it was getting _tiring_.

Viktor raised a hand and gestured for them to sit down. “Can we agree that you all have a maximum of just two bows a day?”

“That would be really rude of us, Mentor Viktor—oh, look, they’re starting!” Kenjirou said, Viktor completely forgotten as he switched his attention to the screen. Viktor hurriedly sat in the chair nearest the door... just in case he forgot that he was the host again.

The music started, and the camera showed the team’s starting position from a high angle before it focused on Jean-Jacques, who was soulfully singing the first lines. He gave the camera a serious gaze before he smirked, switching expressions easily, perhaps due to his modeling background.

When his part was finished, Jean-Jacques bent down, getting out of the frame and the camera zoomed out a little, this time Yuuri popping up in the frame from his crouched position.

Yuuri did a slight body roll, facing the left before looking dead straight at the camera. He raised a finger and placed it on his cheeks, eyes wide like he was confused, before he grinned and threw the finger to point it at Michele, who eagerly grabbed the invisible _whatever-it-was_ that Yuuri threw and placed it in his chest.

Viktor narrowed his eyes. The additional details in the choreography were an interesting touch, definitely giving it the more happy feeling they were aiming for. It was strategic, so why did it feel… off?

He didn’t have time to ponder on it as the performance continued. Seung Gil’s dance really stood out. The cameraman obviously favored him; his face looked even more pristine on television. Viktor was sure that Yuuri was doing well, too, but he had very few lines or parts in the center, which surprised Viktor.

Phichit still showed them the promising rapping that he had shown them before, and Viktor could see improvements. Unlike Georgi, Phichit stuck to the song's original lines, but he would occasionally pause or make his voice lower, giving more personality to his rap.

Blue Team didn’t have any “explosive ending,” but it didn’t feel necessary. Jean-Jacques hitting the high notes so stable and so damn high was already explosive on its own. Viktor was nervous that Jean-Jacques' voice would crack, but instead, it just kept _going higher._

Emil sighed loudly and claimed that he had already accepted his defeat.

Viktor watched a bit as the camera focused on the members one by one. He chuckled when the camera caught the moment Yuuri’s eyes darted to his members, as if unsure whether or not he could already stand up from his position on the floor.

When Viktor stepped back out on the stage, they were all already standing up. Viktor chuckled again.

“Thank you for your wonderful performance, Phichit Tried To Sneak… Hamsters Into the Dorms. Wow, that's really a mouthful,” Viktor said. “Jean-Jacques’ voice is really amazing. Even I couldn’t hit a note that high.”

The crowd screamed, and the team's center waved at them before putting his finger in front of his lips in a ‘quiet’ gesture. Viktor’s eyebrows lifted when the crowd actually went quiet.

Jean-Jacques laughed and… Viktor wouldn’t say it was annoying, but it was quite, hmm, peculiar. “I believe that I can hit the highest note out of everyone, trainees and mentors alike.”

“I can’t really disagree with that. That was definitely the highlight of this performance.” Viktor nodded. “Now, please invite our supercontinent producers to vote for you."

Jean-Jacques turned to Yuuri and was about to give him the microphone, but Yuuri shook his head and politely pushed his hand back to him. Jean-Jacques sighed before he faced the crowd and did his now-becoming trademark smirk.

“We were amazing, weren’t we?” He paused and basked in the screams before he continued, still with a loud and confident voice, “Vote for blue, Phichit Tried to Sneak Hamsters Into the Dorms!”

“Thank you very much. Now, can the other team please come up to the stage?”

When all the trainees were standing in a straight line on either side of Viktor, he addressed the crowd. “Please look at the screens on your left and on your right. Vote for your favorite member per positions. You have three minutes starting… now.”

As the crowd quieted down, occasionally looking up and then back at their voting consoles, Viktor took the time to check the screens. The screens had the group members’ photos in circles with their respective numbers underneath, with Red Team on his right and Blue Team on his left.

Most of the trainees waved and smiled at the audience as the timer continues to count down, some of them with more enthusiasm than the others (e.g. Kenjirou, Phichit), and some so quietly that Viktor almost mistook them as indifferent if it wasn’t for the slight lift of the corner of their mouths (e.g. Seung Gil).

_5… 4… 3… 2…_

“Time’s up. Thank you, trainees. You may now go to the results area,” Viktor said. With their final waves, the trainees bowed again before they went backstage. Viktor smiled and looked at the crowd, making eye-contact before he smiled with eyes closed.

“Thank you, our dear supercontinent producers, for giving us and the trainees your time.” Viktor bowed at them. He straightened up and looked at Celestino, who gave him a thumbs up and jabbed it towards the exit. Viktor nodded. “You may now exit on the door over there. We have some merchandise prepared for you. I hope you enjoy. Again, thank you! Keep safe on your way home!”

As the audience filed out, Viktor jogged and went to the room where the other mentors were staying. They were loudly talking among themselves, and Chris stopped mid-sentence when Viktor arrived.

“Viktor! What can you say about both teams?” he asked as he moved a little to the side, giving space for Viktor on the couch.

“They were all great. Definitely exceeded my expectations,” Viktor said.

“Jean-Jacques really stole the show even though the song was meant to highlight the rap,” Mila said, amused. “Though the rap parts were actually good, no?”

Yuri, noticing the look Mila gave him, let out a breath and crossed his arms. “They were fine.”

Mila snickered. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that you are actually quite proud of them _and_ yourself. They improved a lot. Guess that makes you a pretty good mentor, huh?"

“Damn yes, I am. Don’t tell me you expect me to say ‘thanks’ or something, old hag.”

Chris sighed. “That’s not really a very idol attitude, Yuri.”

“Huh?” Yuri growled. “And what is my attitude supposed to be? Fake, like Viktor?”

The “oh” that followed came out as a long, drawn-out note that Chris and Mila just ended when they remembered their need for air. Viktor rolled his eyes at their childish antics, not really offended as he was used to Yuri's attitude already. Besides, it wasn't exactly untrue.

_Dung!_

There was a scream, and they all snapped their heads toward the screen that showed the results area. The trainees were sitting in a small room with yet another set of tiered stages. They were separated by team, hugging their own pillows as they laughed, probably at whoever screamed earlier. It sounded like Phichit.

A single television in front of the trainees (just how many televisions are in this place?) showed the names of all members from both teams. They were probably surprised with the loud drum that was surely Josef's fault, knowing his love for dramatic things.

The mentors and trainees alike watched in anticipation, waiting for the blank spaces next to their names to fill up with the number of votes they had.

The first two names lit up—the LEADER position. Yuuri and Guang Hong were both seated at the front and center of both their respective teams. It was cute to watch the two similarly being cooed by their teammates.

Their scores appeared without further ado. Yuuri visibly deflated before he shook his head and grinned, congratulating Guang Hong before apologizing to his teammates.

46-27, in favor of Guang Hong.

Viktor couldn't help but frown, and it was not just because Yuuri lost. There were about a hundred and fifty viewers earlier. So more than a half of them didn't think Yuuri was worth their vote? Or even Guang Hong?

A loud _dung!_ resonated again, and this time, the box with the RAP position lit up. Two cameras immediately focused on Phichit, who was complaining about the drums, and Georgi. After a few moments of silence, the score appeared: Georgi won, 40-36. Red Team screamed, Kenjirou more than the others, while Yuuri patted Phichit on the back. He didn't seem down though, even reaching out to Georgi to congratulate him.

 _Dung!_ The battle between the men with the MAIN VOCAL position. Emil leaned back and hummed. “There's an obvious winner here.”

There really was. Blue Team got the next point; Jean-Jacques won in a landslide victory, 101-13.

Emil whistled. “Thirteen points? I'm in trouble,” he muttered. Leo patted his thighs in attempt to comfort hum, but it became a way to comfort himself as another _dung!_ came, this time for the LEAD VOCAL position.

Michele just barely won with 22 votes compared to Leo's 21. They simultaneously leaned back and covered their eyes with their arms, breathing out a huge sigh of relief and disappointment, respectively.

“It’s 2-2 now, isn't it? It's all up to our main dancers,” Yuuri softly said.

Seung Gil was looking at the screen intently, brows furrowed, while Kenjirou looked like he was going to faint any moment.

Quiet.

_Dung!_

Kenjirou flailed his hands out, letting out a yelp. Michele also screamed. He clutched his chest and glared at Kenjirou on the other side. The trainees laughed and teased each other, failing to notice the new scores that appeared on the screen.

Jean-Jacques saw it first. He tapped Seung Gil beside him and pointed at the screen.

79-62.

Blue Team won.

Yuuri, Phichit, and Michele stood up and hugged each other, forming a circle and jumping up and down. Seung Gil sighed before the corner of his mouth lifted up as he watched his teammates screaming below. Jean-Jacques stood up and walked down the stairs. Yuuri turned to him, grin growing wider as they made a vacant space in their circle, as if anticipating for their center to join.

Jean-Jacques just rolled his eyes at them before he went to the other group, shaking Emil’s hands first. That was when Yuuri and the two seemed to remember that there were other people in the room, and they immediately shook the others’ hands, too. Seung Gil also stood up and went to join the others on the floor.

Kenjirou started crying and apologizing, and all the trainees circled him immediately. Phichit nudged Michele and raised both his eyebrows twice. Michele nodded before he approached Yuuri and whispered in his ear. Yuuri whispered something in return. _What were they talking about?_

“Probably related to the kid,” Chris said, and oh, did he say that out loud? “Yuuri aside, obviously, I think Kenjiro had also been close to Michele during trainings, even if they weren’t the same team.”

“It was obvious that Blue Team would win from the start anyway,” Yuri said, crossing his arms. “Adding the aloof, cool-type to the team friggin’ JJ was on? Overkill. The audience probably didn’t even care about anyone else, just Leroy, or Lee, or _Viktor._ ”

As Chris said something about Yuuri’s great leadership skills, Viktor turned to the staff and smiled charmingly, squinting his eyes a bit. “This part won’t be aired, right?”

One of them grinned knowingly. “Don’t worry, Viktor. We will focus on the trainees' performances, their results, and their reactions to the results. Mentors are not expected to have too much screen time.”

“Though since the mentors are _you_ bunch, we needed to adjust some things. More exposure to gain more viewers,” another staff member added as he helped a camera man bring his equipment down. “But don’t worry. Conversations like this generally won’t be recorded or included in the final cut.”

“I didn’t know that. Cool! Thank you!” Mila said.

Viktor tipped his head forward. “Thank you for your hard work.”

“Nah, no big deal. It's our job. Though speaking of,” she trailed off, looking doubtful before she shrugged. “Viktor, I think Yakov and Josef want to talk to you?”

“Ha!” Yuri shouted, bolting up and pointing a finger ar Viktor. “Is he finally getting reprimanded for not doing his job as a mentor?”

Otabek hummed. “I think I have heard that Viktor won’t be a mentor anymore.”

Yuri turned to him, eyes wide and grinning like the Cheshire cat that Viktor used to be creeped out by when he was a kid. “Really? When did you hear that? And why didn’t you tell me!”

Viktor closed his mouth, the _“of course not!”_ he wanted to retort now stuck in this throat. He turned to Otabek worriedly. They wouldn’t do that to their top idol of the decade now… or would they?

“I wasn’t sure of it, and even if it turns out to be true, we will surely hear about it soon,” Otabek replied. He stood up and silently tilted his head toward the door, looking at Yuri questioningly.

Viktor had known the composer for a long time, worked with him on a couple of songs on his previous albums, but he still couldn’t get a read on his expression. He could never tell if he was joking.

Viktor hoped he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied. Chapter 1's long as hell end notes is not the last because I can feel this one will be even longer... Anyway! Here's the TL;DR for this chapter!
> 
> Blue Team (Phichit Tried To Sneak Hamsters Into The Dorms) vs. Red Team (The Inferno)  
> LEADER: Yuuri (27) vs. Guang Hong (46), Red wins  
> RAP: Phichit (36) vs. Georgi (40), Red wins  
> MAIN VOCAL: JJ (101) vs. Emil (13), Blue wins  
> LEAD VOCAL: Michele (22) vs. Leo (21), Blue wins  
> DANCE: Seung Gil (79) vs. Kenjirou (62), Blue wins
> 
> Second Mission: Group Performance Battle winner is Blue Team! This means that Yuuri, Phichit, JJ, Michele, and Seung Gil get additional ten thousand votes for the first ranking announcement... which, spoiler alert, will happen in the next chapter. Yikes! Do you think that those votes will be crucial? Who do you think will be eliminated?
> 
> Also, as mentioned in the tags, literally everyone will appear at some point. New characters introduced or mentioned this chapter are Yuuto (cameraman), Min-So (head staff) Cao Bin (idol), Josef (director), and Celestino (stage director). Viktor forgot some staff members' names...
> 
> Still Alive is such a good song, no? Did Yuuri do the right thing by choosing Still Alive over Partizan Hope? Why is Yuuri not standing out like he, as an amazing person, should be? Is Viktor really even doing his job as a mentor?
> 
> Blink and you'll miss it: Phichit the little shit a.k.a. Lil Phishit. It's totally his name as an underground rapper before he joined the show. Inspired by [SomePerson](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomePerson)'s nickname in the 18OI Discord. Hi, Rach! :yuwu:
> 
> I can see you, silent supercontinent producers. Thank you very much for reading, subscribing, and/or leaving kudos! ~~comments are very welcome too y'know... tell me if this thing still makes sense???~~
> 
> oh dang it's really even longer


	4. Interlude (Y)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Here's an update that I didn't know I will be doing as well but I was crushed by the weight of my existence today and I needed to do something else because if I don't I'll feel bad that I couldn't get any work done so here I am! Consistent chapter length? I don't know her!
> 
> This chapter is actually just the first part of the original chapter four in my file, but I decided to just end a chapter whenever it feels appropriate now. Avoid having too many key moments in one chapter and all that. Soooo, yeah. This won't have a strict alternating POV per chapter thingy anymore; next chapter (which should be up soon. hopefully.) will still be in Yuuri's POV.
> 
> Also, yay, chapter titles? ~~All chapters _do_ have titles in my file. I don't know why I only thought of adding them in here now.~~
> 
> Thank you for the beta and for everything, [Cookie](http://littledancer8-writes.tumblr.com)! I'm linking her Tumblr this time, and she also does amazing fanarts, and why are you still here and not checking her works out? Or okay, maybe do that after you read this chapter... Anywhoo. If you see any errors, especially related to them bloody prepositions (dear god why are they so complicated?), they are completely mine. Help.

“I told you, Phichit. I don’t really mind,” Yuuri replied, tone resigned. Just how many times had he repeated this same line in the past few minutes? He had lost count after fourteen.

The trainees were all gathered in one of the lounges in the main building, watching the second episode of the show. A gigantic television (that Yuuri didn’t know _existed_ ) was on the wall. Some of them were seated on the floor while others were on the lush couches. Yuuri himself was sitting on the corner of one couch, Phichit sitting cross-legged next to him with a pout.

There were only a few staff members in the room, the nicer-looking ones, and only one person was holding a camera. Yuuri supposed there were a bunch of CC cameras on the walls surrounding them anyway, but perhaps it would just be one of the days that the supercontinent producers wouldn’t see.

Just like 80% of Yuuri’s greatness, or so Phichit kept on muttering.

Yuuri understood, truly. He wasn’t that interesting. If he was a supercontinent producer, he wouldn’t want to watch himself either, too. He would definitely be more interested in the solo practices that JJ apparently did in every moment of free time. If one of the nicer-looking staff didn’t insist for them to rest for the day and watch the episode so that they could see their areas for improvement, Yuuri was positive that JJ would practically live in the practice rooms.

Emil and Michele would probably join the model; the two had become even more amazed by his vocal prowess after the group performances… which was only just yesterday. Wow. Yuuri still couldn’t believe their win. He was so elated that he couldn’t bring himself to stop smiling, ignoring Phichit who kept on groaning at him as they watched the show’s second episode.

“See?” Phichit thinned his lips and crossed his arms. “They could’ve shown there how you helped Kenjirou with the choreography even though he was on the opposite team.”

Kenjirou, who was sitting on the floor in front of them, turned around and nodded eagerly. Yuuri sighed. “I didn’t do it just so it could be aired, you know?”

His best friend simply rolled his eyes. “ _Of course_ I know. I can still hate it though.”

Yuuri playfully elbowed Phichit before turning his attention back to the television that was now showing some clips of Red Team’s rehearsals. They were consulting their planned ending with Mentor Chris, who was surprised that Kenjirou could do aerials. Guang Hong told the dance mentor that they hadn’t known either and urged him to watch the re-grade evaluations announcement. The staff had prepared a phone, and they showed Mentor Chris a short clip of Kenjirou’s aerial flip over Yuuri. 

On-screen Kenjirou was about to do a live demonstration for the dance mentor when Yuuri saw a flash of silver in his peripheral vision. When he turned his head to look at it, he sputtered, because it wasn’t an _it,_ but a _him._

He hurriedly stood up, almost hitting Kenjirou in the process, before bowing deeply. Yuuri inspected his feet and the furry red carpet he was standing on. Kenjirou looked at him and Yuuri tried to discreetly twitch his lips towards the door where Mentor Viktor friggin’ Nikiforov just entered.

“Ah! Mentor Viktor!” Kenjirou stood up and bowed. Everyone else likely did the same and Yuuri’s back kind of hurt already, but he didn’t stand up until Mentor Viktor told them to rise and go back to their seats.

The trainees were all quiet, unsure of what to do since the mentor’s visit was not in their schedules. It was their rest day, wasn’t it? Why was Mentor Viktor here? What would he make them do this time? Why was he still wearing dark shades and a big furry coat that almost exactly matched the shag of the carpet with the only real difference being the color since the coat was gray and not red, even though he was indoors?

As if sensing his thoughts, Mentor Viktor removed his shades and coat. He hung the shades on the front collar of his white and gray striped shirt and draped the coat over one of the empty chairs. He walked toward Seung Gil, who was sitting alone on one of the couches, and plopped down.

“Hey,” Mentor Viktor slowly said to the trainee before the upper half of his body dropped on the free space of the couch. Yuuri blinked.

“What has caused you to be this tired, Mentor Viktor?” Georgi asked. Yuuri was quite envious of how Georgi could easily ask his idol the same question that was on his mind. 

(The first time Georgi had called him mentor, Mentor Viktor shuddered and insisted for him to not call him that since they had been workmates for some time and their ages were close. Unsurprisingly, Georgi didn’t really listen to him. It was disrespectful, he had said.)

“Meeting. Looooong, boring meeting. Yakov’s meetings are always so boring,” Mentor Viktor whined. He went quiet for a few seconds before he sat up and smiled.

Yuuri sat up straighter and braced himself.

“Actually, you can stop calling me that now, Georgi. For real. I’m not a mentor anymore.”

 _What?!_ What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Everyone was looking at him with various degrees of surprise and Yuuri looked back at them in confusion. Phichit snorted before diving into a full-blown laughter.

Oh.

Yuuri shouted that out loud, didn’t he?

He buried his face in his hands and bowed quickly, doing it thrice for good measure. “I’m so sorry for shouting!” He sat back on the couch and scrunched himself as close to the corner as he could, willing his body to be smaller as he continued to slowly die in the agony of his embarrassment.

He heard a soft chuckle, and he hesitantly looked up to see Mentor (Could Yuuri still call him that?) Viktor’s eye-smile being directed at him. “Cute.”

It took a while, but when Yuuri’s brain finally functioned again, the mentor (Yes, Yuuri would still refer him as one until he understood what was happening) was already in the middle of speaking.

“—good thing in the long run. I mean, it’s already what’s been happening _._ But now, I’ll have a say in what happens in the show, what can be aired, all those things.” Mentor Viktor paused a little and cocked his head to the side, shifting his attention to the episode still playing on the television, a finger distractingly touching his lips. “You can see it though, right? How the screen time isn’t quite balanced.”

To Yuuri’s surprise, it was Seung Gil who spoke first. “I see my face a lot, even when I am not doing anything outstanding at all.”

Mentor Viktor nodded. “You must be aware of your own following. Even before the show, you and Jean-Jacques already had a solid fan base, given your respective backgrounds in performing and modeling. It may have been strategic at first to give you two more screen time to gain more viewers, but there should be equal screen time now. What do you guys think?”

JJ waved a hand, nonchalant. “It’s no problem at all. It’s what should’ve been done from the start anyway. Skill and talent should be acknowledged.”

“Your talent is definitely acknowledged,” Emil quipped. “By me. And by, like, 99% of the audience.”

“Thank you, Emil, but that’s not the point,” JJ said, a small smile breaking on his face. “You’re hitting higher notes compared to the first time I met you, but I’m not seeing any of that from what we’ve watched so far.”

Phichit gaped at him and nodded vigorously. The couch they were both sitting on shook for the intensity of it. “I totally get what you mean! Yuuri here is literally, like, the heart of the theme song mission, yet did you notice every when he appears in the episode? When he’s eating. _Eating!_ It’s ridiculous!”

Guang Hong hummed in agreement, and to Phichit, he said, “I also haven’t seen more than a minute of your practices so far, even though I kept on hearing you everywhere I went. You always had that piece of paper with you.”

“That’s so true!” Leo said as he patted Guang Hong’s shoulder. “I was gonna ask Yuuri how he handled Phichit since all I have heard coming out of his mouth the last few days were his lines, but I kept forgetting.” Leo sighed and raised his shoulders in a shrug.

Phichit looked taken aback, not expecting to be the center of attention. Yuuri grinned. _Payback time._ “It was terrible,” Yuuri said, trying to convey that it really _was_ terrible, but he couldn’t stop smiling, damn it. “I once woke up in the middle of the night when I heard noises, but apparently, it was just Phichit sleep-rapping.”

“Sleep-rapping?” Mentor Viktor asked, eyes sparkling with amusement. “Why wasn’t that included in the episode? That would’ve been quite a sight.”

Yuuri didn’t expect one of the staff to reply, much less for her to say, “Yes, I know right! When we were looking for some fun footage, I said that was a good material. They didn’t listen.”

“Don’t worry. Now that I’m a producer, I’ll make sure to get those gems in,” the mentor replied with a wink.

“Wait,” Yuuri said, frowning. “Mentor Viktor, you’re a producer now?”

“I know Producer Viktor is good looking, but you really need to pay attention to what he’s saying and not just how he looks, Yuuri,” Emil said. Phichit laughed again before crawling across the floor to give Emil a high five.

_Why was this his life?_

Mentor (Producer???) Viktor didn’t seem disturbed by it. In fact, he didn’t express any emotion at all. Figures. He should already be immune to all kinds of teasing, surely with his millions of fans in the entirety of Hasetsu.

“Yep,” Producer (???) Viktor said, popping the ‘p’. “It’s Producer Viktor now. Doesn’t rhyme like Mentor Viktor, but we can’t have everything, I guess.”

 _Not really if you’re Viktor Nikiforov_. Yuuri swallowed the reply and opted to say, “Oh, uh, congratulations, Producer Viktor.”

Men—Producer Viktor squinted his eyes before he shrugged and leaned on the armrest. “Congratulations to _you_. Congratulations to every one of you. The supercontinent producers have surely seen your talents and potential after your performances. We have more viewers now, apparently, and I want to use this opportunity to make them get to know all of you better. So!” He clapped his hands together. “I proposed something during the meeting earlier. This is my first use of this producer power!”

“Oooh! Producer power! What is it, Mister Producer?” Kenjirou asked. His eyes shined and his grin became bigger. “Ooooooooh! That one rhymes better!”

Producer Viktor sighed. “I can keep on telling you guys to stop bowing so much or stop calling me mister or sir, but will you listen? _No._ So never mind.” He stood up and stretched a bit. “Let’s go to the recreation room on the fourth floor. I have something prepared for you.”

He passed by the couch Yuuri was still curled up on. Yuuri turned around to look at his idol’s retreating back and promptly froze when said idol paused to turn around and look back at him. 

“By the way, you might want to wear shoes. I don’t want you to hurt your feet later.” Producer Viktor tipped his head at him and went out the door.

Yuuri knew he was bright red, if the laughter from the trainees _and_ staff were any indication.

“Shut up,” he weakly said to Phichit, who was not really saying anything, but Yuuri could _hear_ the force with which he was thinking. Prevention is better than cure, after all. Phichit just snickered in reply.

“I wonder what is it? And here I thought we’d get a short rest,” Michele said.

“It’s Mister, I mean, Producer Viktor! I’m sure it’s something inspiring and helpful. We can’t afford to rest!” Kenjirou said, throwing a fist in the air.

“And he’s _not a mentor_ anymore. Being a producer will surely make him even busier. He will rarely have time to help us out when it comes to performances, even rarer than before, so we should make use of every time he offers us.” Seung Gil paused. “If he wants to help us, that is. It’s not really part of his job anymore. He’s a PD.”

JJ whistled. When Seung Gil looked at him with a raised eyebrow, JJ simply stood up and fixed his shirt. Even before it came out of his mouth, Yuuri knew what it would be; it was surely what was on everyone’s mind.

“That’s the most I’ve heard you talk in one go.”

“Is it?” Seung Gil asked, curious, before he shrugged. “Perhaps our topics just haven’t been interesting enough.”

“Point.”

Leo rolled his eyes and grabbed Seung Gil’s arm, dragging him away. The rest of them stood up and walked toward the door as well. Phichit noticed Yuuri looking uncomfortable and asked, “What’s up?”

Yuuri looked at the staff, who were also looking back at him curiously. He sighed. “I need shoes.”

 

* * *

 

**Instagram**

v_nikiforov started a live video. Watch it before it ends!

 

**v_nikiforov ☑ LIVE 89K**

 

**mononikki**

he literally just started and we’re already at 89k wtf

**nana_8493vyb**

WAIT ARE THOSE THE TRAINEES FROM HISTORY MAKERS

**dachiella21**

VIKTOR HI I LOVE YOU

**spiderela**

are they shooting history makers

**WaitSama**

jean-jacques leroy!!!!!!!!!! 💖💖

**dulcet_kth**

oh my god who is wearing the dino costume

**spiderela**

and they are just... playing musical chairs???

**dachiella21**

Did i tell you HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU already?????

**mononikki**

wait is that minako okukawa on the bench holy sHIT

**aceofjapan**

uh is he allowed to take a video of this lol

**dulcet_kth**

is the guy wearing hamster costume the leader from last group perf? hamster team?

**dachiella21**

cause if not i love u viktor pls show us your fACE I LOVE YOU 1000X

**mononikki**

IT *IS* MINAKO OKUKAWA WHY IS SHE THERE OH MY GOD 😱

**bearixt_**

JJ IN A CHRISTMAS TREE COSTUME SJAKDJHAKJ

**mononikki**

IS SHE GONNA BE A MENTOR

**Rach_Niven**

dulcet no that’s the rapper, phichit chulanont! 😊 stan personality and talent!

**dachiella21**

MAKE THAT 3000X 💖💖💖💖💖

**nana_8493vyb**

trainee in bowl(?) outfit just accidentally butt slapped trainee in majin buu pfft

**WaitSama**

JJ 🎄 YOU’RE THE BEST-LOOKING CHRISTMAS TREE TO EVER EXIST 🎄🎄

**WaitSama**

JJ I LOVE YOU <33333333333

**mononikki**

MINAKO IS A QUEEN

**aceofjapan**

hamster team’s leader is the guy in the bowl outfit XDDD

**bearixt_**

SPECIFICALLY A PORK CUTLET BOWL OUTFIT IM HOWLING COSTUME STAFF BLESS YOU 🙏

 

_(“Viktor, where do you want us to put—are you taking a video of—you’re not supposed to—give me that!”)_

 

**Live video ended**

263,495 viewers

 

* * *

 

There was a palpable tension even though the trainees were all doing the same routine, and the amount of cameras seemed to double in number. The past few days, they still spent their mornings and afternoons training together, still eating breakfast and lunch and dinner together. But that day, there were distinguishable frowns on everyone’s faces.

How was it possible for time to pass so quickly? Yuuri felt like he just blinked, and suddenly, it was already the day before their first ranking announcement.

The first elimination.

“We should go to bed early today,” Georgi said earlier, “and use the time to mentally prepare ourselves for tomorrow. We’ve already trained a lot.” And so, after dinner, they all went to their own rooms.

Yuuri placed his glasses on the bedside table and climbed up on his bed, saying a quick good night to Phichit before closing his eyes. It might’ve been minutes, it might’ve been hours, but he couldn’t sleep at all. 

His mind was racing. Their team won, so he would have an additional ten thousand votes, but would that be enough to stay on the show? And even if it was, wouldn’t it still mean that someone had to leave?

Yuuri groaned and sat up. This was going nowhere.

As quietly as he could, he climbed down, thinking of where he could go in the meantime to relax. When his feet touched the floor, he raised an eyebrow at Phichit. His roommate was also still very much awake, sitting up with his back pressed against the wall and looking at him with his arms behind his head.

“Couldn’t sleep as well, huh?” Phichit asked, tone joking but with a hint of exhaustion.

Yuuri sat on Phichit’s bed. “Yeah,” Yuuri breathed out. “It’s all just so… nerve-wracking.”

“I know,” Phichit whined. He moved and sat next to Yuuri on the edge of the bed. “Wanna go out?”

“There aren’t any convenience stores nearby.”

“Maybe grab some hot choco in the kitchen and—wait, you’ve been outside?”

“Yes?” Yuuri frowned. “You haven’t?”

“How!”

“I asked? It’s not like we’re prisoners here. Though we must be accompanied by a staff member and we can only go a certain distance away.”

“Oh.” Phichit took a short pause. “Of course.”

Yuuri just rolled his eyes at him even though he knew the other couldn’t see it. He stood up and grabbed his glasses before putting them on. “Come on. Let’s get your hot choco.”

They walked to the kitchen in silence. As they neared their destination, Yuuri saw some of the staff entering the kitchen but paid them no mind. The staff would be filming the two of them drinking from their mugs like children, but so what? Yuuri had definitely been filmed in worse situations. (And wasn’t it a good thing that he didn’t have much screen time? Their costume rehearsal where he had a wardrobe malfunction immediately came to mind... Yuuri internally shuddered.) Besides, no matter what happened the next day, he would surely embarrass himself again. Probably cry a lot.

He paused as he stepped into the kitchen. The staff he had seen weren’t taking a break and coincidentally filming _two_ of the trainees.

They would be deliberately filming _ten_ of them.

Georgi looked up when they arrived, and Yuuri threw him a questioning look. When the oldest trainee just raised his hands in a “what can you do?” gesture, Yuuri nodded in understanding. 

(He did _not_ understand, but Georgi didn’t seem to do so as well, so Yuuri should be fine.)

“Oh, hey, Yuuri. Phichit. Would you like hot milk or chocolate? We have both prepared,” Emil said.

“And coffee, too, apparently, if you’re a monster like Seung Gil,” Leo added.

Yuuri didn’t know what expression he was making, but it must’ve conveyed his confusion because Guang Hong chuckled as he walked toward him. Guang Hong patted him on the shoulder before directing him to one of the vacant chairs and sitting on the one next to it. “We just finished preparing hot water when Seung Gil arrived,” Guang Hong was saying, “but instead of choosing either milk or chocolate, he went straight to the coffee maker.”

Seung Gil shrugged. “Coffee makes me calm.”

“How the hell can it make you calm?” Kenjirou fisted his own hair, which now had a small portion in the front dyed red. Huh. When did that happen? “I’m already dying here from not-coffee-induced heart palpitations.”

“To each his own,” Phichit said, plopping himself down in a chair on the other side of Yuuri. “Can I have a hot choco, please? And Yuuri will be getting milk.”

Emil looked at Yuuri, probably waiting for confirmation. “Yes. I’ll have milk, please. Thank you, Emil.”

“See?” Michele, who was seated on the other side of the table in front of them, said out of nowhere, looking at Guang Hong conspiratorially. “There must be something about milk that makes people more talented or something.”

Leo, who was seated beside him, nodded. He crossed his arms, looking eerily serious. “First, it was JJ. Then it was Georgi and Kenjirou. And now, Yuuri. The most promising and talented people here.”

What were they talking about?

Yuuri turned to Phichit, expecting to see the same confusion reflected on his face, but his best friend just leaned back, balancing his chair on two of its legs, and asked, “What does that make Seung Gil?” 

“A monster,” Kenjirou whispered.

Yuuri was about to ask them to speak English please when a pink mug was placed in front of him, the telltale smell of milk entering his nose. A soft _thud!_ came from the front two legs of Phichit’s chair hitting the floor and returning him to the way a proper person would sit. Yuuri placed his glasses on the table, put his hands against the mug, and smiled at Emil. “Thank you.”

“Not a big deal, man,” Emil replied. “Enjoy your drinks.”

Yuuri and Phichit each took a sip from their mugs and released a breath of satisfaction in chorus. They looked at each other. Phichit tilted his head. Yuuri nodded.

Wordlessly, they traded mugs. 

The hot chocolate tasted like five-years worth of electricity bills: expensive and exquisite. Yuuri took one last sip before placing the orange mug back on the table in front of Phichit. It tasted nice, but it also promised a night of hyperactivity that Yuuri didn’t really need. Unlike Phichit, he was not immune to that side effect.

Yuuri picked up his own mug again and kept it close to his chest. He closed his eyes and let the smell reminiscent of childhood calm his nerves down.

“Wow,” he heard someone say, and when he opened his eyes, he saw everyone’s focus was on him and Phichit.

“What?” Was there something on his face? He didn’t really check how he looked before leaving their room since he was not really expecting to bump into anyone, much less hang out with them. Was it the glasses? They already saw him in glasses before, though. Didn’t Georgi say he looked fine with the glasses? 

“Do you two know that you do that?” Michele inquired.

“Do what?” Yuuri looked at Phichit. Phichit shrugged and ignored them in favor of enjoying his drink.

“ _That._ ” Leo said. “Can you speak with each other telepathically? You need to teach me! I _knew_ it was possible.”

Guang Hong sighed. “I told you to not add sugar to your drink.”

“No, we can’t,” Yuuri deadpanned, ignoring Leo and Kenjirou’s groans of disappointment. “We have just been friends ever since we were kids.”

“Having a friend for such a long time must be nice,” JJ mused from his place on the couch a few feet away from them. He was quiet the entire time, just watching them as he casually drank from his yellow mug. When he met Yuuri’s eyes, he gave an upward nod to which Yuuri replied with a small smile.

“Yeah! Guang Hong and I have been friends for about five years now, I think?” Leo said. At Guang Hong’s exasperated but fond nod, he grinned and continued, “I mean, to be honest, we didn’t hang around much before. I guess acquaintances might’ve been a better word? But here we are!”

Michelle propped his left arm on the table and rested his chin on his palm, right fingers tapping away at invisible piano keys on his bicep. “I don’t really have friends. Even when I was still a student, people only ‘befriended’ me because they wanted to meet Sara, I guess.” Michele didn’t need to do air quotes; the emphasize on _befriended_ was clear.

Yuuri moved his seat back and was about to stand up, but Phichit had beat him to it. Phichit reached over the table to flick Michele on the forehead. He sat back again just as quickly and said, “And what do you call us?” before going back to drinking his chocolate like he did not just see the emotions flashing in Michele’s eyes. Like he did not just _cause_ those emotions.

But knowing Phichit, he probably didn’t.

The smile forming on Michele’s face was contagious, and Yuuri elbowed Phichit to silently convey his gratitude. Phichit sputtered, coughing and looking at Yuuri like he just called his hamsters ugly. Ooops. Must’ve hit his ticklish spot. He raised a hand and placed it in front of his face, like half a prayer, with one eye closed. Phichit blew him a raspberry but grinned back at him.

“Well,” Emil started, “Phichit’s right. I think we are all friends at this point.”

Kenjirou chuckled, but before Yuuri could overthink what the chuckle meant, the youngest trainee said, “There’s no need to _think_ about it, silly! We _are_ all friends. Duh.”

Yuuri suddenly had the urge to keep Kenjirou safe from any harm.

“We should all go to that ice cream shop we talked about before when this is all over,” Georgi said. “My treat.”

“I will hold you to that!” Yuuri quickly said. The staff probably caught that on camera, too, right? He can’t go back on his word now. Yuuri really wanted to go after hearing about it the other day.

“But I don’t think we could even see you after, Georgi,” Guang Hong said, voice gentle, making Yuuri sober up. Right. There was that. “When the show’s over, you’ll be a YNY trainee. You'll be very busy.”

Georgi frowned. “You can’t be sure of that.”

“If there’s one thing that’s for sure, it’s JJ over here,” Leo said, jabbing his thumb at JJ on the couch.

JJ just stared at them over his own mug. He finished his drink and placed it on the nearby table. “You can’t be sure of that,” he echoed.

Yuuri rolled his eyes at him, facing the side and draping an arm over the backrest of his chair. “Okay, we’ll humor you. But you _will_ still say hi to us when we see each other outside, right?”

“Saying hi might be easier than pretending you don’t exist, so sure,” JJ drawled out. The words might’ve come off as rude, but Yuuri had known better now than to simply take JJ’s words at face value. Yuuri gave him a thumbs up, and the other just sighed and ran his fingers through his golden hair.

“Do I have a choice in being included in this… _friendship?_ ” Seung Gil asked.

“Nope!” Kenjirou grinned. The chair creaked as it dragged against the floor when Kenjirou hurriedly stood up. He started pulling at the trainees one by one, making them all stand in the wide kitchen. Yuuri could see where it was going, so he finished his drink just before Kenjirou came over to them and gently grabbed Phichit and Yuuri each by the arm.

When they were all standing in a small circle, Kenjirou huffed, looking pleased with himself. The confusion was evident from the trainees, but no one spoke and waited for Kenjirou to do whatever he was about to do.

“History-making group hug!”

Kenjirou enveloped as many as he could with his short arms. Yuuri breathed out a laugh before spreading his arms around the others as well. Beside him, Seung Gil muttered something under his breath, but Yuuri felt his arm move behind him.

It was silent for a while until JJ faked a cough. Yuuri snorted when he saw how red the tips of JJ's ears were. Suddenly, everyone was laughing. Even the staff seemed amused. Yuuri ignored the cameras and just laughed harder as JJ hurriedly pointed out Seung Gil’s neck, which was becoming red and betraying his neutral expression, in an attempt to shift the teasing away from him. 

The tension that had been present since the day started disappeared, and Yuuri almost forgot that it was elimination day the next day.

Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By now, I realized that my notes are like two truths and a lie. Try to finish before the setting of the fic? It's been two days since Viktor's Stammi Vicino concert ended (7/14) and the ten trainees reveal was/is/will be (phew) on Sunday, 7/21. Every chapter from chapter 2 on out will be roughly that long? Not anymore. This chapter will contain the first ranking announcement and elimination? Nope, it will be in the next one.
> 
> I'm just gonna stop saying anything now. 😅
> 
> Okay, no, wait, here's one truth: All the usernames used in Viktor's IG live are legit, though most of them are for Twitter. Mine is also there coughcough. I wanna say a quick thank you to Nicole, Nana, Dachi (whose lines mostly came directly from her), Isa, Witchy, Ace, and Rach for letting me borrow your usernames! (We all hang out in a cool ifimaysaysomyself 18+ YOI discord server, by the way. Feel free to [join us](https://discord.gg/jRXfSXc)!)
> 
> Uhh, let me know your thoughts? The entire milk and chocolate scene was not included in my outline, but it suddenly happend. It's one of my favorites. And thus, I (temporarily?) added a few tags: Developing Friendships, Team Dynamics, Platonic Relationships, But it's still Viktuuri I swear, BUT WE GOTTA WATCH OUR BABY TRAINEES GROW, EVERYONE IS GIVEN THE LOVE THEY DESERVE ~~until they get kicked off the show... kidding~~


	5. First Ranking Announcement (Y)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You don't wanna know how awkward some of the sentences in this chapter were if it wasn't beta read by [Cookie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleDancer8). And... you know, the usual. Bloody prepositions. Seats and sits and chairs and in and on. Mannnnnnnnnn, this 8k-word chapter. Imagine if I tried to fit this in the previous one. ((laugh-cry intensifies))

Yuuri couldn’t stop squirming in his seat. They were back in the room where the trainees had met each other for the first time, but somehow, the atmosphere felt… darker. Almost suffocating.

Phichit and Yuuri decided to sit together in front on the two-tiered platforms now placed on the previous stage area, but when all ten trainees had arrived, one of the staff made them change seating arrangements.

Now, he was seated in the back, with the wall on his left and Georgi on his right. The show probably wanted to sell more of the supposed “rivalry” going on between them. _It was useless though,_ Yuuri thought as he looked down at the school uniform-like outfit the trainees were made to wear: a collared white polo, a dark blue blazer, and a tie (everyone had different colors and patterns. Yuuri’s was blue polka dots).

Their outfits were missing the stickers containing their names and grades. Grades didn’t matter—it was all up to the supercontinent producers at this point.

In front of them, the numbered chairs on the four-tiered platforms were even more intimidating, especially now without the 10th chair in sight. Yuuri glanced at the other end of the front row where a deathly pale Kenjirou was bouncing his legs.

 _My chair is gone,_ was probably what Kenjirou was thinking.

But aside from the fact that it was the first elimination, the day where someone sitting in these chairs—himself included—could be saying their goodbyes, Yuuri was also anxious about something else.

Yuuri still spent most of the night tossing and turning and, in the end, woke up late. He had barely had time to do his skincare routine, wear his contacts, and apply light foundation. _God._

His eyes darted around, subconsciously blocking the hushed conversation going on around him as he touched his dry lips. He forgot to apply lip balm, too. If he didn't do something about his lips at least, he would definitely die. 

“Did you bring any lip balm?” he quietly asked Georgi.

Georgi raised a brow at him and reached inside his blazer. Yuuri mentally did a happy dance. Georgi paused in his movements. Yuuri prayed for at least one good thing to happen this morning. _Please._ Even just a lip balm. That would really be great.

“I just remembered that it's actually lipstick, not lip balm,” Georgi said, hand still inside his blazer.

Yuuri let out a sigh of relief. “It's fine, it’s fine!”

“It’s... also quite red. Are you sure you want it?”

 _Anything_ would be better than pale and dry lips right now. Yuuri nodded. “It’s fine. Can I borrow it?”

Georgi brought out the lipstick and handed it to him. Yuuri opened the cap and applied it lightly on his lips in two slow slides. After quickly asking the others and finding out that nobody had brought a mirror, he turned to Georgi and asked, “Is it okay? It's not too much, is it?”

Yuuri squirmed again, this time because of Georgi's scrutinizing stare. When Georgi gave him an “ok” gesture, Yuuri returned the lipstick and said his thanks. He pressed his lips together and used his ring finger to remove the excess he assumed to be there. He still couldn't completely be at ease, but he just sighed and let it be.

Viktor PD arrived, wearing a shiny blue coat and with his hair down. Yuuri stood up, bowed, and when he raised his head, he saw the producer smiling. Viktor PD commented on the changes in hairstyle from some of the trainees and cheered them on. 

The trainees sat, and the producer languidly stood on the podium in front to Yuuri’s left-hand side. Yuuri sat up straight. What surprise would the producer throw at them this time?

“I was watching from backstage and I saw that Yuuri Katsuki was looking for lip balm?”

_Oh, damn._

Yuuri's hands raised to his mouth on autopilot. “I—I was, I am…” Flustered, he brought his hands down and racked his brain because he needed _words._ “My mouth, uh, my mouth…” He would have preferred more words that didn't start with M, but sure, it wasn't like he hadn't embarrassed himself in front of his idol before anyway. No big deal.

“How did Viktor PD know that Yuuri was looking for lip balm?” He heard Michele, seated on the other side of Georgi, ask.

Yuuri knew that Viktor PD could hear the others murmuring in confusion, but he didn't reply and just continued to smile like the evil person Yuuri now knew he could be. (They made them wear ridiculous outfits and play children's games. Fun. Evil. Evil, but fun.) Still, he couldn't help mirroring the same smile on the producer’s face.

“I have one here,” Viktor PD continued, still smiling as he dug into his jeans’ pocket. “Do you want to use it?”

The world stopped. He couldn't be this lucky. No way.

Yuuri knew his wide grin was still obvious even with his hand that suddenly found its way to his mouth again, so he brought it down and looked at Viktor PD in pleasant surprise. His mind barely registered some of the staff rushing to the trainees on the other side to pass microphones. There were roars of amazement, and Yuuri could loudly hear Phichit from the other side’s first row complaining that he was jealous. Still, he couldn't keep his eyes off the smiling producer until Seung Gil, who was in front of him, silently passed him the lip balm.

He grabbed it with two hands, similar to how you would hold a sacred object—and for Yuuri, it was exactly that. _Sacred._

He bowed and immediately came up with a smile, hoping he could convey his gratitude to the amused-looking producer even without words.

“Mister Producer! My lip balm also disappeared!”

Kenjirou was holding a mic, smiling so wide with Leo beside him looking the same. Some started shouting similar sentiments and Phichit started to chant “Lip balm! Me, too!” nonstop. 

Viktor PD just chortled. Actually _chortled._  “Well, if the others don’t mind, you all can share. I just have one lip balm with me right now,” he said, crossing his arms and trying to look serious before laughing again.

“We should share,” Yuuri said to the trainees around him before he faced the front again, trying to calm down his frantic heart. Ugh. His cheeks were starting to hurt.

“Now, please sit, my dearest trainees.”

Yuuri swore he saw Viktor PD give him a meaningful look, but he immediately trashed the idea just as fast as it came. What was wrong with him? His mind was still in the clouds, and it was all because of a single tube of lip balm.

But before he could float any higher, he crashed hard to the cold ground as Viktor PD cleared his throat and spoke. “Welcome to our first Ranking Announcement, which will also be our first elimination. The supercontinent producers have made their decision. Today, one of you will need to say your goodbyes.”

Yuuri bit his tongue and started counting odd numbers beginning with one. He could barely hear anything else aside from the pounding in his ears. This was it. He could be saying goodbye. Why didn’t he practice harder? Why didn’t he talk with Mentor Otabek more and ask for his advice? It could be his last day, and he didn’t even feel like he'd spent his days being a History Makers trainee to the fullest.

“As mentioned before, all members of the winning team from the Group Performance Battle were given an additional ten thousand votes each. They are the following: Yuuri Katsuki, Phichit Chulanont, Jean-Jacques Leroy, Seung Gil Lee, and Michele Crispino.” Viktor PD looked up from his prompter and looked at them. “How much did this affect your final rankings? We will now see.”

Yuuri inhaled a shaky breath.

“We will start with the trainee in ranked 8th. We will leave 9th and 10th for the end.”

A minute passed with nobody making a sound.

Oh, god. 

This was nerve-wracking. 

Why was Viktor PD taking so long? Yuuri couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t they just leave it all up to editing? The entire thrill thing was for the audience anyway, wasn’t it? Could they please just get it over with?

“Kenjirou Minami.”

Worries temporarily forgotten, Yuuri shot up from his seat and clapped loudly, feeling an intense happiness for the trainee that he had become so attached to.

Kenjirou was still sitting, and Yuuri leaned forward to take a good look at him before bubbling into laughter. The youngest was frozen, eyes and mouth wide. He slowly looked to his upper left and caught Yuuri’s eyes. Yuuri gave him a thumbs up and motioned for him to stand up, but it didn’t seem like Kenjirou could actually see or hear anything.

It was only after his seatmates started shaking him wildly that the life seemed to return back to Kenjirou's eyes, wide mouth slowly turning into a cheshire grin. He whooped, and Phichit and Leo removed their hands in time before Kenjirou stood and went straight into a backflip.

By that time, Viktor PD was likely immune to the ball of surprise that was Kenjirou Minami and simply instructed him to stand in the open space in front of them. Yuuri smiled as he watched Kenjirou deeply bow with visibly shaky legs. On the walls beside the numbered chairs, two screens revealed his name and votes: 2,439,934.

Two million votes. Was that a lot, considering the population in Hasetsu?

“Next.” Viktor PD’s voice rang in the room, and Yuuri’s heart plummeted again, catching him off guard and causing him to cough madly. Georgi looked at him in concern, but Yuuri just waved him off, mumbling that he was fine.

When he looked back at the front, the producer was looking at him with a frown. “Are you feeling alright, Yuuri?” he asked.

Yuuri pursed his lips and nodded slowly, starting to feel embarrassed that he was back in the limelight again. One of the staff before casually noted how _“attention-seeking Yuuri seemed with all the extra effort he was putting in,”_ and despite Phichit telling him to forget about it since it was just one of the small factions of royals that still had their _“heads up their asses,”_ it still popped in Yuuri’s mind every now and then. Espesially now. First, the lip balm, and now, this stupid cough… how could the supercontinent producers know that all his actions were genuine? 

How could _Yuuri_ know that his actions weren’t influenced by the fact that his every move was being documented?

Okay. Maybe he wasn’t feeling alright at all.

Yuuri blinked back to reality and saw that the trainees were looking at him. He flushed and looked at his feet. “Just nervous,” he mumbled.

“Ah, well, let’s not prolong your nervousness any longer then,” Viktor PD said. “Congratulations on getting 7th Rank, Yuuri Katsuki!”

Yuuri stared at Viktor PD. At Viktor PD’s grin. At Georgi, who had a hand on his shoulder. At Phichit who climbed his chair to get to the second row and give Yuuri a hug. Everything was muted, but Yuuri’s body worked on auto-pilot again, returning the hug and shaking the hands he saw being offered to him.

“—in front, Yuuri,” were the words that brought Yuuri back to the living. He looked around to find the owner of the angelic voice and saw Viktor PD giving him his famous eye smile. With his microphone down, he shouted, “Congrats again, Yuuri! But _please_ come down now as soon as possible. I think Kenjirou might faint.”

Yuuri turned to look at Kenjirou, who had his hands clasped in front of his chest, eyes teary as he looked at Yuuri with a smile so precious and so _contagious._ Yuuri bowed and quietly thanked everyone before he made his way down to the front. He high fived Kenjirou before enveloping him in a hug. Yuuri had to crouch down a bit for it, but that was fine. 

“I can’t believe you’re next to me,” Kenjirou said to his ear. “I mean, I still can’t believe I’m not last place, but you should be placed higher.”

They broke the hug, and Yuuri just chuckled before reaching out to ruffle Kenjirou’s hair. “You’re starting to sound like Phichit,” he joked, and then in a more serious tone, he continued, “You have worked hard. The supercontinent producers had seen that. And they will continue to see that.”

“You’re starting to sound like the producer,” Kenjirou echoed. Yuuri just rolled his eyes at him before messing his hair again. He took a quick glance at his own number of votes—3,310,092—before he faced the front and waited for another trainee to be called, but there was only silence. When he looked at the producer, he saw him silently talking to a staff member.

Viktor PD nodded before standing up straighter, picking up his prompter from the podium. “For our first two trainees who have secured their spot in continuing their history-making journey, please say your messages.”

Oh. Already? The same staffer motioned for them to look straight at the camera towards the back of the seated trainees.  Yuuri motioned for Kenjirou to go first.

“Oh, um.” Kenjirou looked back at the screen behind him, where the number of votes were being shown, before facing the front. “I know that I am still lacking, but I am very thankful that there are more or less two million people who voted for me. I will do my best to not disappoint you all! And hopefully I will gain more!” Kenjirou chuckled sheepishly before ending his message with a bow.

Feeling calmer now, Yuuri raised his microphone and exhaled softly. “Looking at the votes, I feel like somehow, I only got lucky. Those ten thousand votes added into my total definitely was a big help. I’m thankful for my groupmates. Phichit Tried To Sneak Hamsters Into the Dorms”—somebody chuckled and Yuuri snorted—“I will be waiting for you later in the chairs behind me. To the supercontinent producers who have seen me, thank you so much. PD, mentors, thank you. I will work even harder.” He bowed, and from the corner of his eye, he saw Kenjirou doing the same again. When they came up, the staff motioned for them to go up the stairs on the right and take their respective seats.

Yuuri made himself comfortable despite the fact that due to the positioning of the numbered chairs and the podium, he was now closer to Viktor PD. He was giddy as he watched Kenjirou sway his feet excitedly, but when he saw the space on the younger’s other side, Yuuri knew the smile on his own face disappeared.

He looked back. Just looking at the first chair was enough to make a person with a fear of heights like himself tremble, but if he wanted to win, he needed to be seated on any of the three chairs above. Two more rows to climb.

“So, we now have one from blue and one from red,” Viktor PD mused. “I wonder who is next?” His eyes scanned the trainees, and Yuuri was glad that he was not in those chairs anymore. He didn’t have a reason to be nervous.

“There are two known friendship pairs here, right? Friends even before the show?”

Oh, no. He had another reason.

Viktor PD looked at his promper before humming. “Yep. The one in 6th Rank is from one of the friendship pairs. Who is it?”

Yuuri could see most cameras shifting their focuses on Phichit, Guang Hong, and Leo. Yuuri clasped his hands together. 

_Please, let it be Phichit._

Or, wait maybe, _please, let it not be Phichit?_ He should have a higher rank after his fun grading evaluation performance, and the supercontinent producers surely saw how great he was during their group performance. They won, too.

Yuuri didn’t know anymore. _As long as Phichit is with me after this day, it_   _was all good._

“Congratulations for securing the 6th Rank, Leo de la Iglesia!”

Unlike Yuuri and Kenjirou, Leo didn’t take a long time realizing his rank. He immediately stood up and raised a fist, letting out a loud ‘whoo!’ before turning around to bump fists, shake hands, or hug the others.

Yuuri was conflicted. He wanted to exhale, but would it be of relief or of disappointment?

Leo walked toward the open space as Viktor PD continued, “For the 5th Rank… we have another from Team Red.”

Yuuri didn't think too much about it, but when he noticed some of the trainees tense up, he realized something: Michele had not been called yet.

Somehow, Yuuri was sure that the others from Blue Team would be getting the higher ranks; Yuuri would jump into the castle's freezing pool if JJ didn’t turn out to be first. There were two trainees that Yuuri had been worried about. One of them had already secured his slot, but the other…

Michele didn’t have a stable footing from the start. His anxiety had gotten the better of him during the grade evaluations. Apparently, not everyone liked the fact that a _“famous actress’ brother is joining an idol show,”_ either. He wasn’t given much screen time, too, and the episodes so far did not effectively show his improvements.

Yuuri could be biased if he wanted to, couldn’t he? In the end, he was in History Makers. It _was_ a competition. Yuuri hoped winning the Group Performance Battle would be enough for Michele to pull through.

Michele caught him staring and smiled before giving a half-hearted shrug. Yuuri frowned at him, and similar to what we did before, he pointedly mouthed at him. _No. We’ll make it happen. We’ll turn it around._

 _Yes, we were born to make history?_ Michele mouthed back, incredulous expression on his face, but the stiffness in his shoulders disappeared.

Yuuri grinned and proceeded to clap as Georgi’s name was called. The calm that Georgi exuded as he stood up and walked down the tiered platforms surprised Yuuri, but when Georgi reached the front, a tear fell from his eye. As usual, the eyeliner he wore didn't get messed up. Yuuri chuckled behind his hand. _That_ was more like the Georgi Yuuri had come to know.

“...grats and please come in front...”

Wait, what? What rank was it? Yuuri had been distracted again. Was it the fourth?

“Phichit Chulanont!”

Whatever rank it was, his best friend brightened up, and that was all that mattered. Yuuri stood up and clapped, and oh no, was Phichit crying? 

Dammit, he was.

Yuuri sniffed and used the sleeves of his blazer to wipe his cheeks. Damn Phichit and his contagious tears. Someone else sniffed, and he turned to look at Kenjirou who was now blowing his nose into a tissue that a staffer hurriedly gave him. Another staff member from below the platforms offered a brown box of tissues to Yuuri, and he crouched down to grab a few.

“Phichit’s crying so much that I can’t stop crying too!” Kenjirou said in between sniffs.

Damn Phichit and his contagious tears.

Phichit quickly shook the hands of the trainees remaining and hugged each of them. An excessively crying trainee hugging the expressionless Seung Gil turned out to be amusing to watch. After hugging Michele, Phichit skipped to the front and threw his arms around Leo and Georgi. Leo started jumping, and Phichit followed, and suddenly Georgi was stuck in between two giddy boys, though Yuuri could see that he was smiling widely as well.

Viktor PD grabbed the tissue box from the same staffer from earlier _(oh, the tissue box reminded Yuuri of the producer’s dog…)_ before he went to the middle and offered it to the trainees; a tear fell from Georgi’s eyes and Leo was sniffing as well. Again, the damn contagious tears. Phichit pulled around eight to ten tissues out of the box before slamming them into his face.

The producer laughed and patted them on the shoulders, lingering on Phichit’s to give a gentle squeeze. He waited until they calmed down before going back to the podium. Georgi helped Phichit remove the tissue that was stuck to his face.

“Well, that was surprisingly very emotional,” Viktor PD said, exaggeratedly wiping non-existent tears from the corner of his eyes. “You may give your messages now.”

“Okay, I’ll start!” Leo said, raising a hand at the producer like a student in class. He quickly wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “So, um, I can’t believe this rank at all? But I’m very, very thankful! Supercontinent producers, I will show more of me and take advantage of this opportunity to the fullest. Thank you so much!”

Georgi promptly bowed first before he spoke, voice calm, but Yuuri could see the hand he was flexing behind his back. “I feel blessed that I was able to show the supercontinent producers my skills, and with the help of the mentors, I have been able to grow. Right now, I suppose I’m included in the top five?” He looked back and caught Yuuri’s eye, causing Yuuri to smile. Georgi smiled back before turning around to face the camera again. “I will strive harder and aim for the top. Thank you for your faith in me.”

Georgi was really well spoken. If only Yuuri could convey his messages as clear and refined as him, then maybe he wouldn’t be misunderstood by some. Georgi was only older than him by a few years, but his experience in the industry could easily be seen.

It was Phichit’s turn next, and Yuuri couldn’t stop himself from grinning despite knowing how stupid it must look. Hopefully, the cameramen would overlook him and focus all their equipment to his still-sniffing best friend.

“Oh, god, I didn’t expect I’d cry like this,” Phichit said, pausing a bit to regain his breathing. Viktor PD walked to him again, this time to offer him a water bottle. Phichit drank and took deep breaths before bowing to Viktor PD, who then took back the nearly-empty bottle and went back to the podium.

“Okay, sorry, but, ah! I’m just so happy!” Phichit did a little funny dance, causing everyone in the room to chuckle. Phichit wiped his face some more. “4th Rank is a rank I never thought I would have. This is a seat higher than my chair in the beginning, right? That’s so impossible! Thank you so much for believing in me, supercontinent producers! I won’t let you down!” Phichit bowed lowly, Leo and Georgi following suit

A staffer had started to rush toward them to get their microphones before they went to their seats, but Phichit suddenly stood up and raised his mic again, causing her to stop in her tracks. It was the same woman from before, when they were in the waiting room, and Yuuri felt bad that he wasn’t completely sure of her name. He rarely saw her, in his defence. Wasn’t it... Yuuko?

“Oh! And please vote for Yuuri, too! If I’m 4th, then he should be 3rd!” Phichit said in a sing-song voice before turning around and giving him a thumbs up. Yuuri raised his hands and hurriedly waved them in front, very much conscious of the cameras he could see now focusing on him. 

Yuuri appreciate Phichit. Seriously. So much. Still, Yuuri hoped that the other wouldn’t focus on him that much. It would be amazing if they could win together, of course, but Yuuri knew that Phichit was meant to be someone big. Phichit should focus on himself. Yuuri would still support him all the way, maybe even as a supercontinent producer himself soon.

Phichit returned the microphone and they climbed up the stairs. Phichit immediately ran to Yuuri and hugged him tightly.

“Congratulations, Phichit! You too, Georgi and Leo! Good job!” Yuuri said.

“I can’t believe I’m a rank higher than you two,” Leo said, taking a quick glance back at the screen. “Just about two hundred thousand votes ahead of you Yuuri, though! I’m surely in trouble once the new episode airs. You two were hilarious as hell.”

Georgi tutted. “We can chat later. Let’s go to our seats first. I can feel the staff glaring at us.”

“Oops!” Phichit said. He gave one more hug to Kenjirou and Yuuri before skipping to the platform above them. Yuuri sat down and turned around. Phichit waved at him. Yuuri rolled his eyes.

Last four trainees. The top three and the one in the final seat. And the trainees left were…

Yuuri bit his lip.

“Again, congratulations, you three. It's now time for another three—the trainees who are currently the closest to becoming YNY artists! Who could they be?” Viktor PD  looked at all the trainees before he seemed to focus on just one, a small grin on his face. Yuuri wasn't sure who it was until Guang Hong groaned in embarrassment and looked away.

“It's probably Guang Hong,” Kenjirou said. Behind him, Leo was muttering something to himself.

“For the 3rd Rank… I guess it's time to complete the friendship duos in the chairs,” Viktor PD said, Leo already on his feet and screaming before the producer even finished speaking. 

Guang Hong looked exasperated at his antics, but a small smile was blossoming on his face. He grabbed the hand of the trainee beside him, Emil, and visibly inhaled deeply.

“Let's not make Leo wait; he's already standing. Congratulations on getting 3rd Rank, Guang Hong Ji!”

He stood up and shook the remaining trainees’ hands, grabbing Emil's last to bump their bodies and give him a one-armed hug. He said something, but Yuuri couldn't make out the words from his mouth aside from “good luck.”

“Who do you think will be 2nd?” Phichit whispered. He was leaning forward as much as he could without actually leaving his chair. “JJ will obviously be 1st.”

“Probably Seung Gil,” Yuuri whispered back. Majority of the audience during their group performances were fans of Viktor PD—Yuuri recognized the headbands and lightsticks since he also had some at home. But those that actually came for the _trainees_ , they were obviously for JJ and Seung Gil. Yuuri wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t know the other members of Blue Team then, and perhaps not even until now.

“Let’s see how many votes did the 2nd Rank earn.”

Gasps echoed throughout the room, and Yuuri couldn’t stop his own eyes from widening as well.  “Dang,” he heard Leo mutter.

Dang, indeed. They were already reaching seven million votes. Yuuri’s weren't even half of that.

“The ‘cool guy,’ according to our supercontinent producers. Seung Gil Lee!”

Seung Gil calmly stood up like the cool guy he was and bowed at them. Viktor PD gestured for the two trainees to say their messages.

“Being in Rank 3… this is definitely not what I expected,” Guang Hong started. He fiddled with the hem of his blazer. After a short moment of silence, Leo shouted at him to get a move on. “Err, thank you, Leo. Thank you, Viktor PD, the mentors, my fellow trainees. Thank you, supercontinent producers. Just a few weeks ago, I sat in the 7th chair, and now, I will be sitting in the 3rd. I think this is too much, but I will do my best. Thank you again.”

Seung Gil looked at Guang Hong as he spoke, and when it was his time to speak, he looked conflicted. His body betrayed nothing, but Yuuri took one look at the screen that was now showing a close-up of Seung Gil’s face and he knew that Seung Gil was not as calm as he appeared to be.

“Unlike Guang Hong, I will still be seated in the same chair,” Seung Gil said, the corner of his lips turning downward as he looked at the floor, “but somehow, I do not feel satisfied. Being with the other trainees made me realize that I lack a lot of things.” When he looked back up and straight at the camera, there was determination in his eyes, and Yuuri knew that the competition had just gotten harder. “I will do my best until I know I am deserving of this spot, perhaps even higher.” 

Seung Gil on the screen smirked, his attention directed at something else, but even though he was standing with his back to Yuuri, somehow, he knew it was directed at JJ.

Yuuri confirmed this when JJ grinned and did a “come at me” gesture with his index finger. Yuuri rolled his eyes; that would surely be in the next episode. Perhaps the staff would stop trying to sell the Yuuri versus Georgi thing that did not exist. Even if it did exist and Yuuri was just not unaware of it, it would totally not be as interesting as Seung Gil and JJ’s.

Guang Hong and Seung Gil climbed up, pausing on the platforms Yuuri and Kenjirou were on first to shake their hands. They did the same on the second platform; Seung Gil simply clasped their hands while Guang Hong gave everyone a tight hug, especially lingering on Leo.

“Well, that’s a pretty damn high rank,” Leo said. 

Guang Hong grinned at him. “Guess I’ll have to wait for you.”

Viktor PD waited for them to settle down before he spoke, “And of course, in 1st Rank. Let’s see how many votes he has.” The producer’s eyebrows disappeared under his flattened hair. Yuuri turned to look at the screen on the wall to his right.

Phichit inhaled sharply. “What the—”

13,252,647. Thirteen million votes. _Thirteen._ That was six million votes higher than Seung Gil’s.

“Well, that’s just so sad,” Leo said.

Kenjirou nodded in reply, eyes still stuck on the screen. He looked at Yuuri and sighed animatedly. “I suddenly feel invisible now.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Yuuri replied, but deep inside, he was worried. There was no doubt that JJ would always be in the top ranks, but to see this huge difference? Ten million votes? Yuuri pursed his lips. _I should do something._

JJ walked toward the front with grace, almost as if he was—well, he _was_ a professional model. Yuuri vaguely remembered a line that JJ once said when they were practicing for their group performance. “The entire world is my runway. I need to strut if I want to be acknowledged,” wasn’t it?

The undoubtedly most popular trainee closed his eyes and deeply inhaled. When he opened his eyes, he looked at the camera and grinned before slightly crouching, slowly raising his hands in a familiar gesture.

Yuuri covered his face with his palm with a little more force than necessary.

“It’s JJ Style!”

The trainees behind him groaned, but hey, it was catchy. Shameless advertisement, but catchy. Maybe Yuuri should think of a catchphrase or a signature move, too. Something that would help the supercontinent producers remember him more easily when they open their phones or laptops to vote.

“I can’t say I’m surprised with my rank. It is all according to plan,” JJ said, loud voice echoing in the room even without the microphone. “But the number of votes _did_ surprise me. I think that a lot of these came from those who really went all out and voted for me daily. You have worked hard, supercontinent producers. Thank you. I will work hard as well.”

JJ bowed deeply for five full seconds before he stood up and gave the microphone to the staff member on standby. He bowed at Viktor PD once more before climbing up the stairs, heading straight to the third platform. He briefly shook Guang Hong’s hand and gave a two-fingered salute at Seung Gil. Then, he climbed up the stairs that were positioned in between the second and third chairs.

Phichit, who was standing like the rest of them, gaped and looked at Yuuri while pointing at JJ. Even without spoken words, Yuuri could hear him all the same. _Did he just—_

Yes, he just went straight to the top, not bothering to stop by the first and second platforms. JJ paused to look at the golden chair before he spun around and took his seat. He crossed his legs, overlooking them all like a king looking down on his faithful subjects. 

King JJ. Now, wasn’t that quite fitting?

But god, that chair was really placed ridiculously high. You could probably fall to your death from there.

“Congratulations to you all!” Viktor PD said. Yuuri automatically stood up, blushing when he realized what he just did, but luckily, Kenjirou also stood and the rest followed. 

Viktor PD sighed. “You all really bow a lot, don’t you? It must be nice to be young.”

The trainees laughed and Phichit once again shouted something about Viktor PD’s back and Yuuri really, _really_ was envious of his courage, but at the same time, he was starting to get worried that the producers might take it the wrong way. He knew how they could be sometimes. One of the many reasons for Yuuri’s lack of interest in social media.

Viktor PD pouted. He actually pouted. Yuuri hoped the microphone didn’t catch the sound he just made. “The trainees are now all teaming up against me,” the producer said, shaking his head theatrically. “Just because you are all seated there… and speaking of which…” 

His face turned solemn as he switched his attention back to the trainees remaining on the other side. The sudden onslaught of tension and worry rolled off in waves that Yuuri could almost physically taste. 

Michele was bouncing his leg up and down, switching positions every two seconds, while Emil’s back was straight as a plank, arms crossed.

“It would seem that we have one member from Blue and one member from Red. Can the ten thousand votes from the Group Performance Battle help Michele? Or will Emil pull through after his brilliant high notes?” Viktor PD said. “The two of you, please come to the front.”

Emil waited for Michele to go down before he grabbed his hands, and together, they walked toward the front.

Yuuri clasped his hands together and placed them in front of his mouth, kissing and breathing air through his fingers in an attempt to calm down. When it did not work, he rubbed his freezing hands together, trying to warm them.

Viktor PD had a gentle expression on his face as he spoke. “Would the two of you like to say something?”

Michele and Emil shared a look, and in chorus, they raised their microphones. “Not really.”

Yuuri hid his face behind his hands and ducked after the surprised, ugly laughter that escaped him, but Kenjirou beside him simply guffawed. Yuuri looked up and peaked between his fingers to watch the producer, who had wide, unblinking eyes before he raised a hand to cover his mouth as well.

Their eyes met, and Yuuri stopped breathing. Viktor PD looked at him in amused exasperation before he turned back to the trainees. “Okay. Of course.” He chuckled. “Let’s proceed to showing the remaining votes.”

Two boxes appeared on both screens.

“That’s… such a small gap,” Yuuri commented. 2,361,029 and 2,352,038.

Emil was great and Yuuri truly appreciated him and his perfectly made milk, but Michele… he hoped the ten thousand votes they gained from the previous mission was enough.

“Congratulations on getting 9th Rank and for still continuing your journey…”

Yuuri could taste blood and he touched his lips, faintly realizing that his lips were bleeding. He hastily wiped them with a sleeve of his blazer and intently looked at Viktor PD’s own mouth, waiting for the producer to open his mouth and willing him to say Michele’s name.

“Michele Crispino.”

Yuuri shouted and stood up, throwing a fist up in the air. Behind him, he could hear and _feel_ Phichit jumping up and down as he clapped. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kenjirou heave a sigh before he also stood up and clapped.

Michele was crouching down, shaky legs unable to support him. Emil joined him on the floor and patted him on the head. He firmly shook his head when Michele started mumbling his string of apologies.

Viktor PD was the one who went to them and offered the box of tissues, but unlike Phichit, Michele nor Emil were heavily crying.

(Now that Yuuri could see the tissue box clearer on the screen, he confirmed that it _did_ look like Viktor PD’s dog, Makkachin. Cute.)

“Now, would you like to say your message, Michele?” Viktor PD asked with mirth.

Michele sniffed. With a raised eyebrow, he asked, “Do I actually have a choice, Viktor PD?”

There was Viktor PD’s eye smile again. “Nope.”

Emil stood up and moved to the side, and when Michele followed him, he chuckled and stretched an arm out, gesturing for him to move to the center. “You need to say your message,” Yuuri heard him say, “and I can’t show up on screen while you do that. Go ahead, Michele.”

Michele hesitated, but when Emil crossed his arms, he knew that he had no choice. He took a deep breath. “I was simply lucky. Without those ten thousand additional votes, Emil would be the one speaking here and not me. For that, I want to thank my teammates. Hello, Phichit Tried To Sneak Hamsters Into the Dorms!” He turned around at them and waved. He lowered his microphone and pointedly mouthed _‘_ JJ _’_ before giving an acknowledging nod and turning back to the camera. “I still have a lot more to work on, but I know that I have improved. I would feel bad if I didn’t, even just a bit, after everyone’s help. My co-trainees, the mentors, and Viktor PD, too. I will train as hard as I can while I’m still here. Thank you, everyone. Thank you.”

Michele bowed, and everyone gave a round of applause. Emil and Michele hugged again, and when they broke away from each other, Viktor PD asked, “Would you also like to say something, Emil?”

Emil looked at Michele and shrugged. “I would.”

He grabbed the microphone from Michele and stood straight, but after a few seconds, his appearance crumbled. He shuffled his feet, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, it would not be a lie to say that I thought I could stay longer, but here we are.”

The happiness Yuuri had from hearing Michele’s name being called completely dissipated.

“I am lacking, but even then, I am happy to still have received such a large number of votes. To the supercontinent producers who voted for me, thank you, and I’m sorry that it is now over for me. To the mentors, to Viktor PD, thank you for helping me and believing that I have potential. To my co-trainees”—he turned around, bowed, and stood up with a small smile—“I had a lot of fun. Thank you for the memories. I guess I’ll see some of you guys outside soon? Let’s have a drink.” He finished with a wink before turning back to the camera.

“This is… really unfortunate. But still, thank you for letting me experience this. Thank you.”

Emil bowed and didn’t straighten up until Viktor PD approached him. When he finally stood up, Yuuri could see from the screen that there were tears in his eyes, flowing freely despite his feeble attempts to stop it. Michele was about to hug him again, but Viktor PD gesturing for Michele to take his seat first.

Michele did, albeit hesitantly, and Yuuri hugged him when he arrived on their platform.

Viktor PD wrapped an arm around Emil and used his other hand to raise his microphone. “Trainees, it’s time to thank the supercontinent producers. Please lead, Jean-Jacques Leroy.” The two of them walked to the now empty seats on the two-tiered platform.

Err, what were they supposed to do again?

Kanako, one of the nicest staff members, ran to the top to give JJ a microphone. “Thank the supercontinent producers, and then everyone bow,” she said, voice loud enough to reach Yuuri.

Another female staffer whistled (Yuuri belatedly realized that it was one of the head staff, Ms. Min-So), telling all of them to look in front and stay still. A camera was placed in front of them.

“Thank you, supercontinent producers. We are in your care,” JJ said.

Yuuri assumed he had taken a bow, so Yuuri bowed as well.

“No, no!” Ms. Min-So said on her microphone, waving a hand. ” After Jean-Jacques says that, everyone say ‘thank you!’ in chorus. Then bow. Got it?” Yuuri nodded. They should’ve just told them earlier. Or maybe not. It would suck if Yuuri was taught what to do, only to end up not really needing the knowledge because he was not included in the top nine.

“Okay. Again, please, Jean-Jacques,” she said.

JJ cleared his throat. “Thank you, supercontinent producers! We are in your care.”

“Thank you!” 

Yuuri continued to bow and waited for the stage director, Mr. Celestino, to tell them that they were good to go. When he heard the “thank you, trainees!” along with the resounding clap, Yuuri dashed toward the stairs, just slightly behind Kenjirou, before going straight to Emil. Viktor PD moved a few feet away, giving them just enough space to huddle around the eliminated trainee.

“I can’t believe this. Nooooo,” Kenjirou moaned, sniffing as he clung to Emil. “Who is gonna be my blond partner now?”

Emil rolled his eyes and ruffled his hair. “You can force JJ to dye his hair blond again.”

“I don’t want JJ!”

“Not like I want you, either,” JJ said, arms crossed. He looked at Emil and nodded. “You are a great singer. Do not stop singing. This is not the end.”

“To hear _you_ say that, I am pleased,” Emil beamed. “I was able to hit high notes I wasn’t able to before, so I think that in the end, it is still a win for me.”

Yuuri bit his cheek. “I will miss the milk you prepared for me.”

“Ah, then why don’t you get eliminated soon so we can meet outside and I can prepare all the milk you want?”

“Hey! I’m ultimately sad for you, but I don’t like that!” Phichit said, trying to look menacing but ultimately failing as tears started flowing down his face again. Yuuri groaned.

Emil chuckled. “I’m just kidding, just kidding. If only it was possible, I would rather you all stay until the end, but eliminations will happen. Good luck! I’ll be a good supercontinent producer at home and watch you all. You better not slack off, Mickey.”

“D-Don't call me that!” Michele squeaked. Everyone just laughed, remembering the outfits from the other day. _Right,_ Yuuri thought amusedly. _Michele had a Mickey Mouse one._

“Have we exchanged numbers yet?” Leo asked.

“I don’t think so. Our phones were confiscated before the grading evaluation, and it was only returned to us for a short moment of time during our free time but we… haven’t really thought of exchanging numbers,” Guang Hong said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Because we took staying together for granted.” 

Yuuri stared at Seung Gil and raised his brows before inwardly shaking his head. He should stop being surprised every time Seung Gil says something; he should’ve known by now that he was not like the stereotypical 2D characters he had seen on the animated tv shows Phichit made him watch.

“Ah! You all surely have Twitter, right? Instagram? Let’s follow each other, too!” Leo said.

Phichit agreed. “Yeah! Yeah!” He turned to the staff and smiled widely, hands clasped as if in prayer. “Can we have our phones, even just for a few minutes? Pretty please? We’d just save each other’s numbers and follow each other.”

The staff talked among themselves before Mr. Celestino nodded. “Okay. We will give it to you later, but you must return it immediately to us before dinner.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

Yuuri hummed. “I don’t have Twitter or Instagram though, but I can give you my number and email.”

Kenjirou looked at him as if he grew another head, and Yuuri looked at his shoulders just to be sure he actually didn’t. 

“You’re kidding,” Kenjirou said.

“I’m not?” Yuuri replied, frowning.

“Huh? But what are those—”

Phichit let out a loud “yay!” before grabbing Yuuri and Kenjirou close to him. Yuuri turned to him and opened his mouth to ask what was he doing, but Phichit continued to walk forward and pushed them toward the others trainees. The sheer force almost made them all stumble and fall into each other before Phichit wrapped his arms around as much of them as he could.

"History-making group hug!" he shouted.

Kenjirou and Leo similarly grinned before also shouting, "History-making group hug!"

Exasperated but fond, Yuuri rolled his eyes but complied in the group hug nonetheless. The others closed their eyes and laughed, like there wasn’t an elimination, like they were just simply back in the lounge and goofing around after Emil’s perfectly made hot choco and milk.

Yuuri raised his head and caught Viktor PD smiling a melancholic smile. Their eyes met again for the nth time that day, and Yuuri looked away on instinct before he finally mustered all his courage to look back.

The following series of events were too fast for Yuuri’s mind to process: PD’s eyes twinkled, _literally twinkled_ , and Yuuri probably went stupidly red, and PD smiled wider, tipping his head at Yuuri before he gave a small wave and turned around to walk away, leaving Yuuri completely dumbfounded.

They broke up the hug. Phichit asked why he was staring at nothing, but Yuuri just shook his head, unable to verbalize that he was looking at the space Viktor PD just vacated because he didn’t understand what it actually was.

True to their word, the staff let them use their phones, but they all just simply exchanged numbers and followed each other like they said they would. Yuuri thought that Phichit, Leo, and Kenjirou stayed on their phones longer, but before dinner time, they returned it, just like they promised. Kenjirou still kept on spluttering about how it was impossible for Yuuri to not have any social media accounts, but what could Yuuri do? It may be something that everyone has nowadays, but it was just not Yuuri’s thing.

They spent the night in each other’s company, quietly talking about nothing in particular back at the lounge. Emil prepared Yuuri’s milk as perfectly as he did the night before. Yuuri thanked him, trying carefully to not think about how it was the last night that Emil would do so, how he would be packing his things later when they return back to their own rooms, and how he would leave Ice Castle first thing in the morning.

Nobody spoke it aloud, but Yuuri knew that they wanted the night to last longer. 

However, time waits for no one, and suddenly, it was midnight.

Emil stretched and looked at all of them. "We should rest now." Yuuri's protest didn't even leave his lips yet when Emil countered with a "Viktor PD will get mad at us if he found out we stayed up late again."

Yuuri bid him good night. Good night, not good bye, because they will surely see each other again. 

When he went back to their room, he changed clothes as Phichit went straight to bed, immediately out like a light. He dug in the pocket of his blazer before throwing it to the laundry basket and grabbed the lip balm from earlier. He removed the cap and inspected it, noting that it didn't look brand new. He placed it on the mirror table, right next to the picture frame that contained a photo of his family.

It wasn't just a lip balm; it was a _used_ lip balm. It was Viktor PD's, and now it was his.

…Yuuri was somehow comforted by that thought and he felt the corners of his lips turn up in a small, private smile. Ridiculous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lip balm thing really happened in Idol Producer (which was, again, the show that inspired all this in the first place). That was fun. Wanna know what's not fun? The number of times I wrote "someone bowed" or "chair" or "thank you" here... XDD
> 
> But I have a favorite line: JJ's "It is all according to plan." I was half tempted to write keikaku there. Mamoru Miyano, anyone?
> 
> Uh, anyway, if you're interested with the deets:
> 
> 1\. JJ - 13,252,646  
> 2\. Seung Gil - 7,409,734  
> 3\. Guang Hong - 6,716,404  
> 4\. Phichit - 6,608,819  
> 5\. Georgi - 6,503,123  
> 6\. Leo - 3,531,336  
> 7\. Yuuri - 3,310,092  
> 8\. Kenjirou - 2,439,934  
> 9\. Michele - 2,361,029  
> 10\. Emil - 2,352,038 (Eliminated)
> 
> ALSO!!!!!!!! Since I'm sorry for kicking someone off the show (but more are bound to happen at some point, ooof), I uploaded the first chapter of B-side! You can see Kenjirou's POV during chapter 2 [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20014768)! Y'know, back when they first chose their own seats! :D Comments are much appreciated! u w u


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